The four Sunderland youngsters in contention to play at Hearts

The Black Cats will see their Scottish training camp culminate with a friendly at Tynecastle on Saturday (3pm kick-off) and with the club’s squad rebuild still in progress, a number of under-23 players could be handed an opportunity in the friendly.

Corry Evans could also be in contention for an appearance after he joined up with his teammates at the club’s Edinburgh base, while the club said earlier this week that fellow new recruit Alex Pritchard was expected to journey north for the camp.

Aiden McGeady and Luke O’Nien could also play some part in the weekend fixture after signing new contracts on Wearside.

Sunderland’s camp began on Tuesday and among those to travel with the senior group were Jacob Carney, Sam Wilding, Kenton Richardson and Tyrese Dyce.

All four will be in the frame to play some role in the clash against Hearts, and the latter duo could well feature given the lack of other options in the full-back areas at present.

That quartet of youngsters were all absent for Sunderland’s under-23 friendly with Consett earlier this week – in which the likes of Patrick Almond, Stephen Wearne and Harrison Sohna all featured.

Speaking about the training camp earlier this week, head coach Johnson said: “It gives us an opportunity to have five or six days of intense work.

“Some are ahead of others in terms of their fitness, but we have to strike that balance between peaking them as early as possible and not injuring them.”

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