Sunderland skipper Jason McAteer will play his first match in a month tonight, appearing for the ressies when they travel to Altrincham to play Manchester United reserves.
McAteer has been out of action with a complication from the hamstring problems which saw him miss most of last season – he travelled to Bradford last Saturday but took no part in the action.
It’s thought that former Sunderland player David Bellion will feature tonight for the Reds, whose reserve side is managed by Sunderland’s former reserve team boss Ricky Sbragia.
Sunderland (from): Ingham, McLean, Ramsden, Scot, Babb, Collins, James, Black, McAteer, Dickman, Whitley, Brown, Proctor, Teggart, Reddy.