Sunderland will be without Aiden McGeady and Max Power for their first two matches of pre-season, with manager Jack Ross admitting that he does not know then they will return.

McGeady remains sidelined with a fractured bone in his foot, while Power is out with an ankle injury he suffered in the League One play-off final defeat to Charlton Athletic.

The Black Cats will begin their pre-season campaign with a friendly match against South Shields tonight, followed by a behind-closed-doors in-house game on Saturday, before the squad travel to Portugal on July 17.

Ross is hopeful that McGeady will return to training at some point during pre-season, but admitted that he is still a few weeks away from returning to action.

The Sunderland boss has also delivered an update on Power, admitting that he may struggle to make the start of the League One season.

"Aiden will hopefully be able to train at some point in pre-season but at the moment he is still a couple of weeks away from joining in full training," said Ross, speaking to Sunderland's official website.

"He'll miss Thursday and Saturday. The earliest he could potentially be involved would be Portugal but even then, it might be too soon.

"Max Power will probably struggle to make the start of the season. He got quite a nasty injury actually, an ankle injury that takes quite a long time to heal.

"He's possibly another three or four weeks away."

McGeady was a highly influential player for Sunderland last season, scoring 16 goals and providing six assists for his teammates in 40 appearances in all competitions.

Power was also a key player and scored four goals in 46 appearances, but was forced off in the opening few minutes against Charlton, as the Black Cats suffered play-off heartache at Wembley.

Sunderland face Oxford United at the Stadium of Light on the opening day of the League One season and will be hoping to start the campaign with three points.

The Verdict

McGeady was outstanding for Sunderland last season and it will be a major boost if he is fit in time for the start of the new campaign.

The winger missed the start of last season through injury, so it will be a bonus to have him fit this time around, as the Black Cats will be hoping to get off to the best possible start against Oxford.

Power was also an influential player last season and it would be a blow for Sunderland if he was to miss the start of the new campaign.

It seems like he's got quite a nasty ankle injury though, so the club will need to be careful with him.