Sunderland’s Jordi Gomez is expected to miss the start of the Premier League season, as he continues to recover from an injury sustained last season.
The Spaniard sustained a small fracture in his knee-cap in a training ground collision at the end of last season which saw him miss the last four matches of the season.
The 30-year-old did travel with the squad on their pre-season tour of America but was confined to light training and is yet to join in sessions with his Black Cats teammates.
The big kick-off for the Premier League season is only two weeks away with Sunderland kicking off on August 8 against Leicester City and it does seem that there isn’t a chance of Gomez making the trip to the King Power Stadium.
Despite this setback Coach, Dick Advocaat still sees the former Wigan Athletic man still very much a part of his plans. When the Dutchman talked about his progress he said the match would: “come too soon for him” but when he went to say that he “has qualities which we can use.”
The midfielder who has blossomed since the arrival of Advocaat is expected to be the only absentee for the first game of the season with the only other concern been keeper Costel Pantilimon. The former Manchester City shot-stopper had missed the beginning of pre-season with a knee problem, but the Romanian has fully recovered.
There were some knocks in Advocaat’s come the end of the pre-season tour with strikers Connor Wickham and Danny Graham both sitting out of the 2-1 victory over MLS side Toronto FC having missed training building up to the game.
However the 67-year-old will realistically have a fully-fit squad ahead of their penultimate friendly against Sky Bet League One side Doncaster Rovers next week with new signings Jeremain Lens and Younes Kaboul both set to make their debut at the Keepmoat Stadium.