Regis Le Bris shares injury update on Sunderland ace Jobe Bellingham
Regis Le Bris has addressed Jobe Bellingham’s absence after the midfielder was not included in the squad for Sunderland’s 0-0 draw against Norwich City.
The Black Cats secured another good point on the road on Tuesday (8 April) as Sunderland held Norwich to a stalemate at Carrow Road.
The result secured Sunderland’s place in the play-offs with five games to spare as dreams of Premier League football next season edged closer to reality.
However, despite another positive performance, Bellingham was a noticeable absentee, which no doubt caused concern amongst the Sunderland faithful.
Jobe Bellingham absence becomes clear for Sunderland
Bellingham was one of four changes made by Le Bris for Sunderland’s clash against the Canaries, but his absence was certainly the most notable.
The England Under-21 international has been on fire for the Black Cats and has netted four times and picked up three assists so far this Championship campaign.
This form has resulted in widespread speculation regarding his future, with Chelsea now linked with Bellingham.
Given his importance to the team, there was concern that Bellingham‘s omission against Norwich was due to a serious injury with the play-offs approaching.
However, Le Bris has now confirmed that his absence was precautionary and “not serious”.
“He’s okay. It’s not a serious injury,” Le Bris explained to the club’s official website post-match.
“Although he wants to play every game, today was an opportunity for him to refresh.”
Sunderland cannot afford any major injuries before the play-offs
Now that the play-offs are confirmed, the remaining five Championship games present a different challenge for Le Bris and Sunderland.
The Frenchman must ensure that everyone in his squad remains fit and ready for the play-offs.
This will likely mean that the starting XI is regularly rotated for the next five games to minimise the chance of injuries to his major stars.
While in the short term, this could result in the club dropping multiple points between now and the end of the season, in the long term, it could be the difference between Premier League football next campaign.
The last thing Sunderland need is someone such as Bellingham or Wilson Isidor out on the sidelines for what will be the club’s biggest run of matches since their defeat in the play-offs back in 2023.
Hopefully, this strategy will work for Le Bris and the club will come out of the next five games unscathed.