Jamie McAllister has confirmed Denver Hume is back training ahead of Sunderland's promotion clash with Lincoln City, but the tie may come too soon for Bailey Wright, Tom Flanagan and Jordan Jones.
Hume has not played since the Black Cats 1-0 defeat at Wigan Athletic in Lee Johnson's first game as Sunderland head coach.
"Denver has trained today and he looks excellent, he looks good and strong," said McAllister. "He's not far away. Bails [Wright] is probably a week or two behind, Flanno [Tom Flannagan] is the same, Jordan Jones the same.
"Aiden O'Brien was on the grass today that was good. There's a few coming back which is good and there's a few which are one or two weeks away."
Lincoln City have also endured their fair share of injury woes. They're missing Jorge Grant and Tom Hopper has also been ruled out for the rest of the season.
"I think he [Hopper] did his hamstring on Saturday," said McAllister. "They can play Scully up there as a false nine, they've got plenty of depth in the squad and can put a wide man up there.
"Johnson is quick and plays off the right but he's good on the ball. He can take it to feet or run in behind.
"They've got options but we know their threats. They've got great rotations, great movements and the last game against them, the first half an hour they dominated and we couldn't get to grips with how they played.
"I think they'll bring in someone to replace them with quality."
The Imps have won just once in their last seven league fixtures but McAllister is fully aware of the threat that the Imps pose.
He said: "It was a great performance and a great win [at Sincil Bank] but Lincoln had a few counter attacks before we scored. They probably should've scored one of the two.
"As I say they've got threats throughout the team and we've got to make sure we nullify that and put on a professional performance.
"I thought the semi-final was a great game, two good sides playing the right way playing attractive football with good tempo.
"There was a good intensity in the game and it could have went either way if I'm honest.
"I though it was a great game and they're a good side so it'll be a good test for us tomorrow."
