McNair set to return in crucial trip to Bolton
Ahead of tomorrow’s huge six pointer between struggling Sunderland and Bolton Wanderers, Chris Coleman will have a smile on his face as Paddy McNair is confirmed to return to the squad.
McNair has been out of action since New Years Day when he picked up a groin injury.
But after playing an hours worth of football in the reserve match against Manchester City, the Northern Irish international will be added back to the senior squad.
Coleman may be looking to makes changes to his starting line-up after suffering a heavy 2-0 defeat on Saturday against Brentford.
Some more faces return and are expected to start in tomorrow night’s match after featuring on the bench this past weekend Lamine Kone, Adam Matthews and Jonny Williams are all expected to start.
Speaking today Coleman has said:
“Paddy will be back (training) with us today. He had a game on Friday for the Under-23s, which was good for him.
“He’s got a chance to be involved, and Lamine also. Adam and Jonny obviously came off the bench, and they’re back after being out. “Marc Wilson is not ready, he’s not available, and unfortunately I don’t think Kaz (LuaLua) will be right either. He was unlucky. He already had a bad ankle, which he was carrying, and unfortunately he got another kick on it on Friday. I don’t think he’s going to be available tomorrow.”
Sunderland put in what has been described as a weak performance and showed little fight for a team in their situation on Saturday.
Coleman has admitted with the return of McNair and Kone will be a big boost for his side.
“If you look at the Championship, and what makes up most of the teams in this division, it’s a very physical league.
“They’re two big boys, and when they’re physically and mentally ready, I definitely think they’ll add to us. They’ll strengthen us, for sure. “Sometimes you look at us, and we probably look a bit short and small compared to the opposition, so if you put a McNair or a Kone in there, it helps. They’re big, physical boys, and that definitely helps.” Said Coleman.
Credit to the Daily Express for the imagery used in this article.