Mowbray drops selection hint and gives Cirkin and Gooch updates

Dennis Cirkin will be available for Sunderland’s Championship fixture at QPR – with Black Cats boss Tony Mowbray considering changes for the fixture.

Cirkin has missed the side’s last two matches after suffering a concussion at Millwall earlier this month.

Sunderland will still be without Lynden Gooch, who has been sidelined with a hip flexor issue, while Niall Huggins

has picked up a knock after recovering from a longterm setback.

"Dennis is travelling,” said Mowbray ahead of the QPR fixture.

“He has trained the last few days and feels alright so is back and available.

“I think a few more weeks for Lynden. He’s not on the grass, I haven’t seen him out there even with the physios yet.

“I would imagine a few more weeks for Lynden.”

Mowbray has hinted he may make a few changes at The Kiyan Prince Foundation during a congested fixture schedule.

“I think we might look to change a couple of things,” said the Sunderland boss.

"You have to be careful, you can’t change your whole team, but I think there’s a few players that while they’re not really under performing, they’re maybe not quite at the heights they would be if they were only playing one game a week.

"They’re maybe not quite as sharp, quick or alert as they could be.

"I’ll probably just try to freshen it up a little bit with one or two changes.

"Let’s wait and see. It’s a midweek game, and we’ve got another big home game coming up at the weekend against Bristol City.

"You have to be mindful of the schedule, although you never go, ‘Let’s not worry about this one and then win this one’ – you want to win them all.

"But you have to try to trust your squad as you’re doing it.

"In the modern day, it’s called rotation, and you’re just hoping that with your rotation, you don’t weaken the team.

"That’s why you try to bring squad depth in, although that’s always about the quality within the squad rather than the numbers.

"Hopefully, if we do make one or two changes, the ones that come in continue in the same vein and help the team’s performance.”