'No timeframe' put on Sunderland Corry Evans return despite encouraging update

Sunderland boss Michael Beale is eager to get Corry Evans back involved at first team level, but no time pressure is being applied to it.

Michael Beale says there is still no timeframe for Corry Evans returning to the Sunderland squad, but he’s really looking forward to having him back.

Evans has been out of action for more than a year now after suffering a serious knee injury against Middlesbrough in January 2023.

This week the encouraging news broke that Evans was ‘back on the grass’ and set to join in some of the under-21s sessions.

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Beale has stressed though that Evans is still in the early days of his reintegration back into training, and he is understandably reluctant to put a date on when fans can expect to see the midfielder back on the teamsheet.

That said, Beale wants him back around the first team squad as soon as possible to act as a ‘glue’ between the coaches and the younger players.

“I think it’s a two-way thing with that, I need to keep talking to him about how he feels,” Beale said.

“He’ll do some sessions with the U21s and naturally, he’ll play a couple of games with the U21s first. Then it’s about his body and how responds to that, when you’re playing small-sided games or have done a lot of training in isolation as he has, it’s fair to say you need to get your logistics again on a bigger pitch and get your lungs burning.

“He’s got to go through that period and it’ll be a two-way process, what our eyes see and what the data says but also how he feels. I wouldn’t want to put a specific timeframe on it but he is definitely going to need a couple of U21 games I think.

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“The sooner he can feel comfortable in the U21 session, he’ll jump back in with us.

‘I think that’ll happen over a week or so period. And then look, if we can get him in and around the changing room, having someone like him there… he can be that glue between the information you’re giving and making sure that on the pitch in difficult moments, you’re sticking to the game plan and staying positive.

“He’s someone who can certainly be that glue, we’ve got other players who are stepping up brilliantly at the moment but you don’t gain experience quickly and Corry certainly has that.”

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