Sunderland's Ahmed Abdullahi plan explained after striker makes impressive return from injury | OneFootball

Régis Le Bris says Sunderland want a consistent run of full training and U21 minutes from Ahmed Abdullahi before considering greater first-team involvement.

The 21-year-old made only his second senior squad appearance of the season as an unused substitute in Sunday’s FA Cup fifth round defeat at Port Vale. He had also been an unused substitute against Huddersfield Town in the Carabao Cup earlier in the campaign.

On Monday at Eppleton he scored twice in a 5-2 U21 win over Leeds United. He had scored on his previous U21 outing since his latest return from injury, underlining the potential that convinced Sunderland to sign him from Gent in summer 2025.

Le Bris stressed the need for consistency, wanting a spell of full training and perhaps a couple more U21 games before any step up is considered. If Abdullahi reaches that point, staff will reassess, but he has not yet had that uninterrupted run.

His first season on Wearside was disrupted by pre-planned groin surgery after a seven-figure move, with a difficult recovery even though the underlying issue was corrected. He featured early in pre-season, but a proposed loan to Ligue 1 side Angers collapsed when French football authorities blocked it on financial grounds.

Further minor setbacks followed, and Sunderland and Abdullahi now hope he can train consistently through the rest of the campaign to build momentum before what will be a crucial pre-season.

Source: Sunderland Echo