Sunderland AFC: Return timeline for Ahmed Abdullahi, Ian Poveda, Salis Abdul Samed | OneFootball

The three summer additions have barely, if at all, featured for the Black Cats this season.

A rough date has been revealed by Regis Le Bris for the return of Sunderland players Ahmed Abdullahi, Ian Poveda and Salis Abdul Samed.

Sunderland's summer recruitment has been heavily praised in some ways and then questioned in others. The signings of Alan Browne, Wilson Isidor, and Chris Mepham have been undoubted successes; that doesn't apply to all their dealings, though.

Three of the four Deadline Day acquisitions made by Sunderland - Abdullahi, Abdul Samed, and Milan Aleksic - are yet to play a single minute for the first team. Le Bris has said that Aleksic is close to making his debut, but they are just waiting for the right time.

The other two, and fellow new arrival Poveda, well, they're going to have to wait a bit longer, according to the boss.

Regis Le Bris provides Sunderland trio return timeline

Abdullahi, Abdul Samed, and Poveda aren't expected to be fit enough to play until mid-December, Le Bris has revealed. Poveda is the only one of the trio to have taken to the field in a competitive game since making his move to the Stadium of Light in the summer, but he has been frustrated by fitness issues since joining.

"With these three, Ian, Salis, Ahmed - it is too soon to know exactly when they will be on the pitch to train and then to play," Sunderland's head coach admitted, via the Sunderland Echo.

"The difference between the two can be quite subtle. But we are hoping that they will be on the pitch sometime in mid-December."

While the three of them have not suffered what would be classed as any major injuries, they have been sidelined for a sustained period, either cumulatively, in Poveda's case, or continuously, in the case of Adullahi and Abdul Samed.

One of Sunderland's other long-term absentees, Aji Alese, is expected to play a role in this weekend's contest against Millwall. Le Bris revealed that he, and first-choice goalkeeper Anthony Patterson, "should be available" to face the Lions on Saturday.

Alese has been out since the end of August with an ankle problem, while Patterson has also had to miss the last few games due to injury.

With a positive comes a negative, though, as, after the club's previous match versus Coventry City, both Browne and Romaine Mundle have been ruled out for six-eight weeks.

They were expected to miss the Millwall fixture anyway after picking up the knocks prior to the international break, but their absences have been compounded by the three Black Cats players who have been suspended for the match - Jobe Bellingham, Trai Hume and Patrick Roberts - making their clash with the league's eight-placed side even tougher.

Injured trio must show promising signs upon their return

As much as some of the faith in Sunderland's recruiting staff has been restored since Le Bris took office, uncertainties do remain. There is still that tendency to go for the very unproven raw talent over someone a bit more surefire.

It works in some cases - Isidor has been brilliant and he wasn't flying about on many clubs' radars. The flip side of his success story is the likes of Adbullahi and Abdul Samed, who have no impact on the team.

Now, in all fairness to them, that's not because of their talents, more so their fitness. Availability is the best ability, though, as the saying goes. The pressure will be on them, and Poveda to come good once they are back to full health.