Sunderland boss Jack Ross has revealed that midfielder Lee Cattermole is likely to return to the side this week as they hunt the points needed to secure automatic promotion.

Cattermole has been out injured since the EFL Trophy final defeat against Portsmouth, but could return to the side tomorrow as the Black Cats host Doncaster in the day's late kick off.

They could find themselves five points behind Barnsley by the time they start their game and if results go against them, they could begin the match as low as fifth.

Ross has suffered something of an injury crisis of late, but Cattermole's return is one positive to take at a critical part of the season.

"Lee is properly in contention now," he was quoted by the Chronicle Live.

"Last weekend, in an ideal world, I probably would not have had him in the squad because he had hardly trained, but we were short of bodies and by having him there, if the game had required it, we could have used him.

"He's trained well this week, though, and he is at full throttle now."

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Cattermole has appeared 29 times in all competitions for the Black Cats this season, scoring six times. In total, he has made over 250 appearances in a ten-year stay at the club.

The Verdict

Having these big players back is going to be a boost for Ross. Cattermole might have played all his football at a higher level, but he's rolled his sleeves up and got stuck in this season.

At times, perhaps he's been a little over-enthusiastic with 13 bookings in his 29 outings, but that's his style. he'll fight for everything and right now, Sunderland need that.