Aiden McGeady is in line to feature for Sunderland this weekend, although they will be without several players for the game against Gillingham.

The Black Cats have enjoyed a positive start to the season, with the team sitting fourth in the table, although they have games in hand on two of the teams above them.

However, Lee Johnson's side did lose 4-0 to Portsmouth prior to the international break, so they will be desperate to bounce back.

And, there was mixed news on that front, with assistant Jamie McAllister providing an update on several squad members when speaking to the club's official site.

"The only one where we maybe have a slight issue is Leon Dajaku, who we're just monitoring at the moment. Aiden trained this morning and he's coming along nicely. He's been doing a lot of work in the last 10 days, he still feels it a little bit now and then in certain movements, so we'll just monitor him over the next 48 hours and see how he is come the weekend.

"Lynden has been doing some running over the last couple of days so he's coming along nicely as well. Saturday will probably come a little too soon for him."

Elsewhere, Luke O'Nien will return, but the fixture will come too soon for Corry Evans and Nathan Broadhead.

The verdict

You can imagine that the Sunderland squad are desperate for the game to come around after the manner of the defeat at Fratton Park.

Of the injury news, the fact that McGeady is closing in on a return is a major boost, as everyone knows his quality and how influential he can be, whilst Johnson will hope Dajaku is available.

In truth, the boss has a big group to select from, so there won't be major panicking and it's down to those that do play to ensure they perform well to stay in the XI.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.