Sunderland boss Alex Neil has revealed that Alex Pritchard is making good progress as he returns from injury, even if tomorrow's game at Lincoln will come too soon for the playmaker.

The attacking midfielder has missed the past two games with an ankle injury and whilst the Black Cats have won both games, they have lacked his ability in the final third.

And, speaking to Chronicle Live, Neil gave an update on Pritchard, who is on track to feature in the coming weeks.

"Al's made really good progress. He'll certainly miss this game [against Lincoln], but I'm hoping that we should get Alex out on the grass next week. He will certainly help us in the remaining games once we get him fit.

"He's not big in stature but he is very combative, he understands pressing triggers, he is very good tactically and technically. When you combine all of that, he is a good player."

Neil added that forward Nathan Broadhead has also been training after a muscle injury, although it's unclear whether he will feature against the Imps.

The verdict

This is good news for Sunderland as even though Sunderland beat Crewe and Fleetwood without the former Spurs man, he was missed as both games were hard work.

So, Pritchard will have a big role to play in the run-in and you would imagine that he will be key to their hopes of reaching the top six.

Neil recognises that, but he knows he can't take risks, and he will still feel the squad has enough quality to get results without their key man, starting at Lincoln tomorrow.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.