Regis Le Bris to have mixed emotions after Omar Alderete incident away from Sunderland
Sunderland have been without Omar Alderete for their last few encounters through injury.
The international break allows several Sunderland stars to have a rest, while the others jet away to represent their country in often meaningless fixtures.
That was the case for Alderete, who, despite missing Sunderland’s recent triumphs, was called up to the Paraguay squad.
Alderete was named on the bench for Paraguay’s defeat to the USA on Saturday night, but an incident in the second half caught the headlines.
Omar Alderete sent off despite not playing for Paraguay
Regis Le Bris insisted that Alderete played 30 minutes for Paraguay in their first fixture of the break, and 60 in the second.
However, the chances of that happening now are nonexistent after the defender was sent off for a sideline brawl involving both sets of players and coaching staff.
Alderete received a straight red card for his involvement, meaning he will now miss their clash with Mexico on Wednesday.
On the bright side, Alderete will return to the Stadium of Light without an injury, though he will also return lacking sharpness.
It’s a catch-22 scenario for Le Bris, who will have been hoping that Alderete could get his fitness up, having been out of action since Sunderland’s win over Wolves in October.
Sunderland now have clear call to make vs Fulham
Once the break is over, Sunderland are back on the road to take on Fulham.
Le Bris has used a back five lately, and he has found a lot of success with it, though there is every chance he switches back to a four, given Fulham’s lack of quality showcased so far this season.
Alderete’s lack of gametime, matched by the performances of Dan Ballard and co recently, makes it very hard to see the Paraguayan starting at the weekend, and he is likely to face a challenge to break back into the starting 11.
The Black Cats have some tough fixtures approaching in December where Le Bris is almost certainly set to use a back five, and that may be when the 28-year-old returns to the starting 11.
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