I hate international breaks. They just aren’t fun.
I’ve really enjoyed this season so far, but the worst part of it by far has been having things repeatedly disrupted by international football – and there’s
ANOTHER break in November!
I know it’s just a part of the game, but it’s still really irritating. Not only do I have to find other things to do around the house, but I have to wait anxiously as we hear whether or not one of our players has picked up an injury whilst away with their country. And, as I write this, it seems that one of our key men has picked up a bit of a knock and could well be a doubt for this weekend’s visit of Wolverhampton Wanderers to the Stadium of Light.
Noah Sadiki has been an absolute revelation at Sunderland since arriving here from Union-Saint-Gilloise in the summer. Initially, I wasn’t really sure if he’d been signed as one for the future or as someone to come straight into the starting eleven, but it was clear from minute one of pre-season that this lad is a proper player and wasn’t here to warm the bench. His nickname prior to arriving here was ‘Mini-Kanté’, and you can totally see why once you see him popping up here, there, and everywhere on the pitch. He’s got the energy of a Duracell Bunny and is so good at covering the ground that when we went down to ten men against Aston Villa last month, nobody really noticed, as Noah did all the running of two men anyway.
He missed out on DR Congo’s second international game of the break with a sprained ankle and was sent back to Wearside for treatment and assessment instead. The brief amount of footage we’ve seen showed him limping, and whilst it didn’t look too bad – certainly not bad enough for him to be wearing a moon boot or using crutches – it didn’t look great either. I’m certainly not an international professional footballer, but I’ve sprained my ankle loads of times. Not only does it knack, but how long it takes to get better completely depends upon how badly you’ve sprained it, so I’m sure you Sunderland supporters out there will join me in my prayer as we ask God to repair Noah’s ankle in time for the big game at the weekend!
Injuries and knocks aside, it’s not ideal trying to prepare for a game when most of your squad won’t get back into the training ground until Thursday or Friday. But all the teams at this level have good players, and we’re all in the same boat, so Wolves will be no different to us in that regard, and you’ve just got to hope that Régis Le Bris has managed to eke value from the time he’s had with the remaining players on the training ground over the last week or so.
We beat Livingston in a behind-closed-doors friendly last week with a relatively strong side. Those minutes banked for the players involved will be important going forward, as the injuries to Diarra and Sadiki prove that these things happen. We’re going to need a fit and firing squad if we’re going to stand any chance of surviving this season.
For the first time in forever, we’re the favourites with the bookmakers for a Premier League game, and with good reason. We’ve had a cracking start, and Wolves are bottom but have improved in their last few. Despite their improvements, though, they’ve chucked away leads against Spurs and Everton late on in games, which may point to mental and tactical fragility, and we’ve really got to try and expose that. Wolves will be coming to Sunderland to win, and whilst we have to be guarded against that, we’ve got to go out there and try to get the three points.
With tougher games on the horizon, this result may prove pivotal as we approach the November international break and look to keep improving upon our brilliant start to the season.
