“We hope it isn’t too serious” – Régis Le Bris issues Dan Ballard and Enzo Le Fée injury update
Régis Le Bris has explained how he hopes Dan Ballard’s injury sustained in Saturday’s defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion “isn’t too serious” ahead of Sunday’s Tyne-Wear derby.
The match at the Stadium of Light was decided by Yankuba Minteh’s second-half goal, as the Brighton winger’s mishit effort unexpectedly found the net.
Throughout the match, Sunderland created several chances but struggled to convert them, with Chris Rigg’s 48th-minute strike being disallowed after a VAR check for offside.
Yet, Le Bris said he was pleased with aspects of his team’s performance – but explained how the small margins proved costly.
He explained: “We had good intentions to manage the way they built up the play.
“We struggled a bit, probably for 20 minutes, because they created one or two chances.
“We tried, but obviously, our end product is not the best at the moment.
“We have many young lads and this part of the pitch is probably the hardest one.
“We need to keep going.”
Ballard came off the pitch after suffering a knock to his ankle in the second half, after Enzo Le Fée and Nilson Angulo both missed the game through injury.
Le Bris continued: “Dan had discomfort with his hamstring, so we hope it isn’t too serious.
“We expect Enzo to be ready for Newcastle, it might be possible.
“For Nilson, we’ll have to wait at least four to six weeks.
“Reinildo will train with us tomorrow, so that’s good news.”
