Sunderland receive major boost ahead of Newcastle United clash - 7 players available after FIFA ruling
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Newcastle United latest news: Sunderland will have a handful of key players available to them when they face Eddie Howe’s side at the Stadium of Light.
Sunderland have been handed a major boost ahead of their clash with Newcastle United at the Stadium of Light on Sunday 14 December.
Regis Le Bris’ side will have his whole squad at his disposal ahead of that match following news that those players away on African Cup of Nations duty will not have to leave to join up with their national teams until Monday 15 December. As many as seven first-team Sunderland players could be away at AFCON.
There was a fear from Wearside that none of Arthur Masuaku, Noah Sadiki, Habib Diarra, Reinildo Mandava, Chemsdine Talbi, Bertrand Traore and Simon Adingra could all miss the Wear-Tyne derby if required to join up with their nations on that weekend. FIFA, though, have confirmed that Premier League players can feature in that weekend’s action before flying to Africa for the tournament which is due to begin on 21 December.
Black Cats boss Regis Le Bris, who will take charge of his first Wear-Tyne derby next month, revealed it was ‘good news’ that his side won’t lose the services of those seven players ahead of the clash with their local rivals: “Good news for the team and for this fixture [vs Newcastle United] especially,” Le Bris said.
“We have a strong group, and that's good because we don't have any injuries and the players who haven't played much before will have opportunities to play. They can contribute as well because the group is powerful with different options.”
Le Bris was also asked about squad depth and whether he believed his squad had enough depth to cope with the missing players: “I trust the quality of this group,” he responded.
“We started with 12, 13, 14 main players as starters but the others behind the scenes are working hard and they’ve shown good qualities before. The dynamic is really positive.
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“They can show that they can contribute even for a short period, so I'm not too concerned. They know the rules and sometimes they can get frustrated, which is normal, but at the same time, they know the level and will be ready.”
Yoane Wissa to stay at Newcastle United during AFCON
Newcastle United, meanwhile, will not have any players heading to Morocco for AFCON following news that striker Yoane Wissa had not been included in the DR Congo squad for that tournament. Wissa is still yet to make his debut for the Magpies after being injured whilst on international duty with DR Congo in September.
The former Brentford man has returned to training and taken part in training matches as he steps up his recovery from a knee injury. And he will continue that recovery on Tyneside during the African Cup of Nations.
DR Congo, who have two Sunderland players in their squad in the form of Sadiki and Masuaku, will play Benin, Senegal and Botswana in the group stage of AFCON with ambitions of going deep in the tournament.
DR Congo are also just one game away from qualifying for next summer’s World Cup and will play an interconfederation match in March. Win that, and they will be playing in the USA, Mexico and Canada.