PHIL BARDSLEY will make his first return to the Stadium of Light since leaving Sunderland this evening, with Gus Poyet admitting he was “hurt” by the full-back’s departure in the summer.

Bardsley will be part of the Stoke City side that takes on Sunderland in the third round of the Capital One Cup less than three months after confirming he would not be rejoining the Black Cats following the end of his previous contract.

The 29-year-old was offered a new deal at the Stadium of Light, but after a series of talks broke down, opted to move to the Britannia Stadium rather than remain in the North-East.

Having resurrected Bardsley’s career after he was forced to train with Sunderland’s junior players under Paolo Di Canio, Poyet admits to feeling let down by the defender’s decision to leave and, just as with Jack Colback, there is a clearly a degree of resentment at such a messy parting of the ways.

“If I said I was disappointed I would not be telling the whole truth because it hurts badly,” said the Black Cats head coach. “I am very sad because we helped each other a lot. He was over there, training elsewhere and we brought him back and he reacted in an incredible way.

“He helped us to get safe and we helped him to come back into football. And then things happened. In football, these things happen. We started to negotiate a number of contracts, even though we didn’t know where we would be at the end of the season. We started with Phil and Jack Colback, but because both didn’t go anywhere, we stopped.

“The first two that we decided to negotiate with, they didn’t work because everybody was playing the waiting game. That killed us a bit, for whatever reason. It was not like we were not agreeing, but it all depended on where we were the following season and maybe then it became too late.”

While the Sunderland hierarchy waited to see whether their side would still be playing Premier League football this season, Stoke boss Mark Hughes persuaded his board to make Bardsley a lucrative offer.

The defender’s deal in the Potteries is understood to have included a pay increase from his previous contract on Wearside, making it extremely difficult for Sunderland to table a counter-offer that might have persuaded him to stay.

Bardsley has started all five of Stoke’s Premier League games this season, and while he was rested for the club’s earlier League Cup win over Portsmouth, Poyet fully expects him to feature in the starting line-up tonight.

“He will play for sure,” he said. “Sometimes players get an offer and it can be difficult to equal as it is too much. That is a side of the game, but it is not about being greedy. Not at all.

“The problem was timing. It was impossible. I had the opposite end of the scale at Brighton, where again we had to stop negotiations until we knew where we were the following season – the Premier League or Championship.

“You tell a player we cannot offer you a contract until we know we are in the Premier League or the Championship, and they will say it all depends.

“In the end, that is what happened with Phil and it was difficult for him. It is tough for us. It hurt more than anything because he is not with me, but if he is happy and his family are happy then I’m alright with it because that is the most important thing. I hope we will see him.”

Sebastian Coates and Ricardo Alvarez will be part of Sunderland’s starting line-up after shaking off minor knocks. Coates, who is still to make his Black Cats debut following a deadline-day loan move from Liverpool, is expected to replace Wes Brown, while Alvarez, who made his first Sunderland start in this month’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham, has returned to full training after missing Saturday’s goalless draw at Burnley.

Steven Fletcher will not be involved because of a calf injury, with Emanuele Giaccherini also sidelined after twisting his ankle at the weekend.

“Ricky is fit, but Fletcher is not unfortunately,” said Poyet. “I would like to say he (Fletcher) is probably going to be fit for the weekend (against Swansea). Ricky is in the squad and Coates is in the squad.”

Having guided his side to the Capital One Cup final at Wembley last season, Poyet is fully aware of the potential value of a cup run so while there will be a handful of changes tonight, the Sunderland head coach is adamant his side will not be significantly weakened.

“We’ve got a decent group, so we should put a very strong team out which is important, with a few changes that are needed,” said Poyet. “I’m just looking forward to playing the game, performing and winning of course.”

Possible line-ups:

Sunderland (4-1-4-1): Pantilimon; Jones, Coates, O’Shea, van Aanholt; Bridcutt; Buckley, Larsson, Gomez, Alvarez; Altidore.

Stoke (4-2-3-1): Sorensen; Bardsley, Huth, Shawcross, Pieters; Sidwell, Nzonzi; Walters, Bojan, Assaidi; Crouch.