Sunderland defender Dennis Cirkin has been pictured back in training as he closes in on his return to match action, which has drawn an excited response from fans of the Championship club.

The Black Cats have been taking a careful approach with the 20-year-old in recent weeks after he was knocked out in the game against Millwall in early February.

Cirkin was initially sidelined for a fortnight due to concussion protocols but he did not feel right when he returned to action against Rotherham United and Sunderland have been managing him carefully as a result - with Tony Mowbray revealing he was being kept out of full training while he was recovering.

It seems he is now back to full health as the defender was pictured in a training session with the rest of the Black Cats squad yesterday.

With Aji Alese ruled out for the season, Luke O'Nien has been used as a makeshift left-back in recent weeks but it seems Cirkin could be back available for the final weeks of the 2022/23 campaign.

Unsurprisingly, his return to training has drawn an excited response from Sunderland supporters...