Régis Le Bris confirms Dennis Cirkin decision ahead of Sunderland's trip to Sheffield United

Régis Le Bris has confirmed that he is unlikely to risk Dennis Cirkin at Sheffield United tomorrow night.

Cirkin is recovering from surgery on his wrist and though he is fit to train, he has been absent for a couple of weeks and the Sunderland head coach does not feel the need to take any risks.

Aji Alese has made a successful return to action over the last two games and is a strong contender to come into the starting XI.

“He’s OK now, ready to train,” Le Bris said of Cirkin.

“But because he hasn’t trained for two weeks and we have other solutions available, we don’t need to take a risk. I trust Dennis a lot and he is very important for us, but at the minute we don’t need to rush. It might be too risky to use him tomorrow.”

Le Bris confirmed that he has no fresh injury concerns elsewhere in the squad.