Star aiming to stake claim for a future with Black Cats
ARBENIT Xhemajli can be considered part of Sunderland’s first team squad again after his 15-month injury absence, says Lee Johnson.
The Kosovo international defender has played just 90 minutes of senior football since suffering a ruptured cruciate ligament while on duty with his country’s U21 side in October 2020.
He made his comeback for Sunderland’s U23 side in October, and has since made a further five appearances at that level - most recently in Wednesday’s 3-3 Premier League Cup draw against Leeds.
His only first-team outing since returning to fitness came in the EFL Tropy against Oldham last month, althought he was an unused sub in the Carabao Cup quarter-final against Arsenal just before Christmas.
Back in the summer Johnson said that he would wait until the New Year before making a judgement on whether the 23-year-old was ready to be eased into League One action, and he says that time has now come.
However with Tom Flanagan and Callum Doyle established as Sunderland’s first-choice centreback pairing, and with Bailey Wright next in line, Xhemajli will not find it easy to force his way into the side, particularly with highly-rated youngster Ollie Younger also waiting in the wings.
“I think we’re ready to make that judgement on Arby now,” said Johnson.
“He would say he is ready to be judged, in that he has had a decent number of minutes now, and shown some consistency.
“He’s been in training, training with the first team, playing with the U23s, and there will be an opportunity at some point for the likes of Arby and Ollie Younger but while the boys currently in the side are doing well, they will stay in.” Sunderland had high hopes for Xhemajli when he signing in the summer of 2020, but he had made only one appearance before suffering his serious injury, and that came in an 8-1 EFL Trophy win against Aston Villa at the Stadium of Light in September of 2020.
Xhemajli’s long lay-off meant that Johnson had been in charge for 10 months before he had the chance to see him play.
Xhemajli’s contract expires at the end of the season and he will be keen to make an impression in the second half of this season to show that he is worth a new deal now that he is over his injury problems.