Aji Alese to face weeks on the sideline after Blackburn injury but Simms set for return

According to Tony Mowbray 'best-case scenario' is Aji will be back after the world cup break, but Simms is approaching a return.

Aji Alese came off injured during the defeat at Ewood Park on Tuesday. The injury to his foot was sustained during a 50-50 tackle with Blackburn youngster Jake Garrett.

“Aji looked in a lot of discomfort after the game, lying on the bed with a big pack of ice around his foot,” Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray said after the game.

“I’m hoping it’s a kick, but I think he might have twisted it in the challenge as well." Mowbray continued "He's pretty upset about it, to be honest. He thought it was a really bad tackle. We'll have to see.

"If it needs a scan, we’ll get a scan. It needs to settle down first, then we’ll see what the aftermath of it is.”

Alese did indeed need a scan, as Mowbray updated on the situation “He has had a scan and it’s not as bad as we first feared, because it looked really bad when you watch it back on the video. He’s taken a real, heavy kick and then twisted his ankle."

 “So he’s in a protective boot to stop him causing any further stress to the area. At the moment it looks the like best-case scenario for us is three to four weeks, which takes us into the World Cup break. Hopefully he can get himself fit during that period. It’s a shame for him and the team – he’s been magnificent really.”

TM: "Aji is in a protective boot but it's not as bad as feared. Best-case scenario is 3-4 weeks."

So after World Cup, basically.#SAFC

— Phil Smith (@Phil__Smith) October 20, 2022

The hope is that Aji will return during the World Cup break, allowing him time to build up his fitness. With this in mind Mowbray is hopeful Aji will be able to play some part when Millwall come the Stadium of Light on 3rd December.

In other news it's fair to say Sunderland have missed having a striker, but light is shining at the end of the tunnel with the imminent return of Ellis Simms.

After sustaining ligament damage in his toe during the 3-0 win over Reading, Simms has missed six matches for the Black Cats. During this time Sunderland have had to play without a recognised striker after also losing Ross Stewart to injury in the warmup the previous week at Middlesbrough.

The wait could be finally over though, as after taking part in light training Simms is in line to re-join full training on Monday, this weekend's game at home to Burnley however will come too soon according to Tony Mowbray.

Mowbray stated, "Ellis won't make the bench for Saturday,"

"We're hoping that he'll join the group for training starting Monday. He's been on the grass in his boots for a week now, but in a controlled environment with the physios.

"The uncontrolled stuff, when he's just joining in with the players and he's not being careful with his twisting and turning or anything, starts Monday."

"That'll be the final test for him and if he overcomes that he should potentially be available for the trip to Luton - that's the trip that we should be aiming for I think".

"We've spoken a lot with Ellis and player welfare will always be at the forefront. We need him back but the right thing to do is to go through with the processes. If he gets through a full week of training, then he could be ready to make the bench or even a start knowing that he won't then complete 90 minutes."

Although Mowbray insisted that he won't be chucking Simms into the squad for the Luton game for the sake of having a striker as he knows there is still a long way to go in this season.

"But we won't take risks - we have a long way to go this season and we need Ellis to be fit for most of it."

This seems the sensible approach as the last thing the club needs is a setback to the recovery of a much-needed striker.

The situation with Ross Stewart remains the same with the striker expected to return after the world cup.

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