Sunderland's second pre-season friendly against Rotherham United is to go ahead as planned, despite their opposition having to call off their match against Grimsby Town next Wednesday due to injuries suffered during their pre-season trip to Poland.
Fixture to go ahead despite injury issues
Rotherham, managed by ex-Sunderland defender Alan Stubbs, were forced to cancel the friendly against Grimsby Town due to several minor injuries that prevented their players from being able to take part in the fixture.
Stubbs expects that many of those injuries will have cleared up in time for the visit of the Black Cats next Saturday, who could be without a manager if Sam Allardyce is offered the England managerial position as is expected in the near future.
The match will be Sunderland's second friendly in their pre-season schedule, with the first coming next Wednesday at Victoria Park, where they will face Hartlepool United. The Wearsiders are currently free from injury, meaning that Allardyce will have a full squad to choose from should he still occupy the hotseat in the North-East.
Hectic pre-season schedule
The remainder of Sunderland's pre-season schedule includes matches against Dijon, Montpellier, Stade Nyonnais and Borussia Dortmund, with the first three games taking place in France and the final fixture against the German giants being played at the Cashpoint Arena in Austria.
Sunderland are due back from their pre-season training camp in Austria on Saturday, although boss Allardyce returned earlier to discuss the possibility of becoming England manager, a process which the club hopes is brought to an end sooner rather than later with the new season approaching.
The Black Cats will begin the 2016/17 Premier League season, whether it be with Allardyce or a different manager at the helm, with a tough away trip to Manchester City where they will face Pep Guardiola's men in what will be his first match in English football.