Le Bris confirms Sunderland boost ahead of three huge games | OneFootball

Regis Le Bris has confirmed that he will have the players who are due to take part in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) available for the next three games.

Sunderland are set to lose seven players because of the tournament, which starts on 21 December – Reinildo Mandava (Mozambique), Arthur Masuaku (DR Congo), Habib Diarra (Senegal), Noah Sadiki (DR Congo), Simon Adingra (Ivory Coast), Chemsdine Talbi (Morocco) and Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso).

But Le Bris says all will stay with Sunderland until after the Tyne Wear derby against Newcastle on 14 December.

“It’s good news for the team, for this fixture especially,” Le Bris said.

“Now we have a strong group, touch wood, because we don’t have any injuries and the players who haven’t played much before will have opportunities to play.

“I think they can contribute as well because I think the group is powerful, with different options, so we’ll see.”

Le Bris’ side take on Liverpool on Wednesday followed by Manchester City on Saturday before they face their fierce rivals Newcastle.

The Sunderland boss insists he is then confident that other members of his squad can step up in the absence of his African stars during a busy festive and new year period.

“We’ll see but I trust the quality of this group,” he said.

“We started with probably 12, 13 or 14 main players but the others behind the scenes are working hard and they have showed good qualities before.

“The dynamic is really positive, with a great level of confidence to be part of the squad and I think they can show that they can contribute even for a short period so I’m not too concerned.”