Duncan Watmore is expected to make his comeback from injury tomorrow as Jack Ross prepares to make significant changes for Sunderland's Carabao Cup tie at Burnley.
Watmore has not featured since the opening day of the campaign when he aggravated a thigh problem after coming on as a substitute in the 1-1 draw against Oxford United.
But he returned to training last week and is likely to play a part in the second round tie at Turf Moor, although it is not yet clear whether that will be as part of the starting XI or from the bench.
Ross made it clear last week that the League One game at Peterborough United on Saturday takes priority over the cup, and he intends to rotate his squad as a result.
The Black Cats boss has kept a relatively settled line-up during the current four-game winning streak which began with the cup victory at Accrington Stanley, and continued in the league against Portsmouth, Rochdale, and AFC Wimbledon.
However the cup game against the Premier League Clarets is likely to give players who have been out of the starting XI recently such as Lee Burge , Tom Flanagan , Jack Baldwin , Dylan McGeouch , Elliot Embleton , George Dobson , Will Grigg , and Watmore, a chance to impress.
Striker Marc McNulty missed the last two games with a hamstring problem he picked up against Portsmouth but he is targeting a return at Peterborough with Ross saying that he would not rush him back for the cup tie.
The only other absentee for the trip to Lancashire will be Ethan Robson , who was slightly behind Watmore in his recovery from a thigh issue.
New addition Joel Lynch was signed in time to play tomorrow night, but he has had only a couple of days' training with his new teammates and will need time to build up his fitness having left QPR over the summer, meaning he missed out on pre-season.
