Sunderland have been without Arbenit Xhemajli for over a year now and the defender will no doubt be desperate to get back to full fitness and into first-team contention with the Black Cats.

With the player nearing fitness again, the club's coach Elliot Dickman has stated to Chronicle Live what the next step for the player should be.

The player has begun to feature more prominently for Sunderland's reserve side and has steadily begun to build his minutes back up during these games in a bid to get him back to the level he needs to be at.

The defender could be a useful option for the Black Cats once he does manage to get back to full health and he'll certainly be desperate to play more when he does get back into contention, with the 23-year old having only ever played in one game for the League One side so far during his career.

Before that, he played his football in Switzerland - so he has yet to really be tested properly in England.

However, that time may soon be coming, with Sunderland's Under-23 coach Elliot Dickman stating that the next move for Xhemajli should be to get a full game under his belt - and if he does, then that could certainly be a huge step towards him reaching the peak of his powers and being back in with a shout of the starting eleven again.

Speaking to Chronicle Live, Dickman said: "He is in that staged return of 45mins, 70mins, and so on.

"Friday might be a little bit too close for him to play again after tonight. but maybe in our next game he might be looking to get 90 minutes."

If he can complete a full match now, then it would certainly show he is getting back to full health and could mean that we soon see more of the defender in a Black Cats shirt then. He hasn't had too much action yet, so he'll be determined to battle back and get stuck into League One football soon.

The Verdict

Sunderland will need all the options they can get in terms of squad depth and ensuring that they can compete for the League One title or promotion spots. As part of any title race, it is important to keep your players fit and rotated and Xhemajli would provide a good option in defence for them.

He's relatively untested so is still somewhat of a gamble in League One. However, he'll be eager to get back to competitive action and that drive after sitting on the sidelines for so long could get him right into contention for a starting spot and could make him a good depth option going forward.