Tony Mowbray excited to welcome back 'special' Sunderland midfield talent

'Special' talent Chris Rigg will be straight back in Sunderland squad after return from World Cup.

Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray is excited to welcome back a ‘special’ player in Chris Rigg after he returns from representing England at the Under-17 World Cup.

Rigg played an important role for the Young Lions as they topped their group before suffering a shock defeat to Uzbekistan in the knockout phase.

That means Rigg will return to Sunderland quicker than anticipated, although he won’t be back in time to face Plymouth on Saturday.

However, his place in the squad will be waiting for him when he is able to return after Mowbray admitted he remains wowed by the 16-year-old – and not just by his talent.

"I'm not too sure when he'll be back exactly, he obviously won't be coming with us this weekend.

"When he gets back, he'll be back involved with us training hopefully at the start of next week. We'll of course see how he is and how he feels, how much the travelling and the games have taken out of him.

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"He'll be back involved with us when he's ready, he deserves it. I've said it a lot, we have a lot of talented young players come train with us but he's just a little bit special.

"I put that down not just to his talent but his amazing attitude, which sets him aside a bit. He's got no fear not just of training with the first team but competing and engaging.

"His place in the squad is warranted, I'm delighted he's had that experience of going away to a World Cup and we'll integrate him back in as quickly as we can."

Chris Rigg compared to Roy Keane

Chris Rigg has had a remarkable rise in the last 12 months. He made his Sunderland debut at just 15-years-old and has already become the club’s youngest ever goalscorer.

While his talent is there for everyone to see, Mowbray says there is another side to the midfielder as well, and one that has made him make a big comparison.

"He is this warrior-like character, a personality and internal mechanism," Mowbray said of Rigg earlier this month.

"He wants to win every tackle, every 5-a-side, every contest he's in, which is pretty unique in a footballer.

"I shouldn't really say it, but it's that Roy Keane-esque type of 'nastiness'. He's a nice kid, but not so much of a nice kid when he's got his boots on and is on the pitch."

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