When injured Sunderland stars are now scheduled to be back...
As Lee Johnson nears a year at the helm on Wearside, he is facing one of his toughest tests.
Seven senior Sunderland players, all of whom could be considered strong options to start league games, have been sidelined with injury.
Most challenging is that it has left him with severely limited options both at full-back and in central midfield.
As happened last season when he was left with virtually no senior centre-back options, he is faced with trying to findtacticalsolutionsthatkeep players in relatively settled positions,andonesthataren'tentirely unfamiliar.
So when exactly will Johnson's options begin to improve again?
TheSunderlandheadcoach says that he is hopeful to have two players back sometime this month, understood to be Dennis Cirkin and Corry Evans.
Cirkin recently had a hernia operation but Johnson has explained that the surgery option taken was the 'best-case scenario'. That means the fullback is expected back around three weeks from the date of the operation, raising the prospect of some involvement in the festive fixtures.
Evans is also due back around then, although Sunderland are yet to fully assess the impact of a thigh problem picked up in the warm-up at Cambridge United.
The initial prognosis is an absence of two to four weeks.
Getting that duo back to fitnesswouldbeaboostforJohnson, as it would give him the option of returning to a back four if desired.
Not only would Cirkin finally give him a natural fullback option, but Evans' return would allow the return of Carl Winchester to the right-back berth he so excelled in earlier this season.
Havingsaidthat,theNorthernIrishmanwassuperbatthe
heart of midfield at the Abbey Stadium and may well see this asamajoropportunitytomake the position his own. There is certainly a marked increase in boththeconfidenceandtenacity with which he plays at the moment.
Next slated for a return is Denver Hume, on track to be back around two months after his ankle injury was sustained at QPR. That means a possible return at the turn of the year, with Niall Huggins expected to be a few weeks behind him.
Both,itshouldbesaid,have had little football this season and so will not be at full matchsharpness straight away.
A little further behind will be Aiden McGeady and Luke O'Nien. It is hoped that McGeadywillbefitagaininFebruary, withO'Nienperhapsreturning around a month after that.
O'Nien's recovery timeline is not fully set at this stage, but the initial feedback to the club has been that it is likely to be closer to three months than the nine initially feared.
All of which means that it seems highly likely that Johnson will temporarily continue with the shift to a five-man defence.
Lynden Gooch impressed as a wing-back in the past, and again on Saturday, and while it isunfamiliartoLeonDajakuon the opposite flank, he made a solid start at Cambridge.
Johnson has looked at the free agent market and says there are options there, but would prefer to promote from within. That a full-back and central midfielder will be key January priorities is increasingly obvious.