Regis Le Bris said Dan Ballard is in contention to make a return from injury when Sunderland visit Tottenham in the Premier League on Sunday.
The central defender has missed Sunderland’s last two games after sustaining an ankle injury in the wake of the Black Cats’ 1-1 draw with Brighton prior to Christmas.
Ballard has been a vital cog in Le Bris’ defensive unit, who kept an impressive clean sheet in his absence to hold Manchester City to a 0-0 draw at the Stadium of Light on Thursday evening.
Sunderland remain seventh in the table and just four points behind Liverpool in fourth place, but face a quick turnaround as they travel down to London to face Tottenham on Sunday.
Asked if Ballard will be fit enough to make a return to the side against Spurs, Le Bris said: ‘He’s getting better. We don’t know if he will be available for the end of the week or midweek.
‘He might be available, but it’s step by step and day by day.’
A hard-earned draw against Pep Guardiola’s side continues Sunderland’s impressive home form against the league’s best teams.
The newly-promoted side have also held Arsenal and Aston Villa to draws at home, with Le Bris keen to praise the role that the fans have played in making the Stadium of Light such a tough place to come and visit.
‘I think we spoke often about the identity of the team and this identiy has to be connected with the identity of the crowd, and the region and hte people who like Sunderland,’ he said.
‘I think we are in a vicious cycle – they like it when we press, when we tackle and when we gain possession high up the pitch.
‘They feed our energy to do that, and the opponent can probably feel that as well.’
The trip to face Tottenham will be Sunderland’s third game in seven days over a busy festive schedule, but Le Bris insisted he side will be ready for the challenge.
‘They (the players) like it to be fair because we want to play football,’ he said. ‘It will be a tough period for us, but also for our opponents as well.
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‘We will be at the same, maybe a bit tired, so we will have to manage the game properly, but we will see.’
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