Sunderland moved into the play-off positions as they ran out narrow 1-0 winners over promotion rivals Ipswich Town on Saturday. 

Chris Maguire's stunning strike proved to be the difference between the two sides on the day, as Sunderland moved ahead of the Tractor Boys in the third-tier standings.

Sunderland boss Phil Parkinson was without two senior players for the clash against Paul Lambert's side in Joel Lynch and January signing Declan John.

The 52-year-old issued a positive update on Lynch, who was forced off in the recent defeat to Portsmouth with a serious looking injury.

"With Joel, there is no broken rib, protocol with the concussion is progressing.

"He should be close to selection early next week."

Parkinson then revealed why on-loan defender Declan John wasn't involved in the matchday squad, but insisted that his decision was a tactical one.

"Declan is fine. He's been fine this week in training, but Bailey had started the week with a bit of a tight groin and I just felt I needed another centre back on the bench.

"It's unlucky for Declan that he didn't make the 18 but he kind of understood. He's fitted into the group really well and he's going to push Denver really hard for that place."

The Black Cats are next in action when they take on Rochdale at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday evening, in a game they'll be expected to pick up three points from.

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The Verdict: 

This is a promising update on both players from Parkinson.

They coped well without Lynch in particular on Saturday, but there's no doubting that they'd rather have him available for selection at the earliest of opportunities.

He's been a key member of the Sunderland squad since arriving at the Stadium of Light, and he'll be hoping he can return to the starting XI when deemed fit enough to feature.

John is also a smart addition to the Sunderland team as it provides them with the ideal strength in depth needed to challenge for promotion back into the Championship.

I see no reason as to why Sunderland won't win promotion back into the second-tier this season, especially if they can build some momentum at this stage of the campaign.