JACK ROSS is confident he will not be forced to reintegrate Papy Djilobodji into his Sunderland squad against his will, despite the centre-half finally returning to the club’s training ground this week.

Sunderland are taking legal advice about their options with regard to Djilobodji’s contract after the French defender failed to attend more than two months of training sessions as he attempted to secure a move away from the Stadium of Light.

His efforts proved unsuccessful, but while he is now back on Wearside, Sunderland owner Stewart Donald is keen to assess all his options, with Djilobodji undergoing a series of tests to assess his fitness levels after a summer without any organised training.

Sunderland could look to dismiss Djilobodji for gross misconduct, but that might well mean they would be unable to recoup any money if he was to switch his registration to another employer.

Alternatively, they could keep him on their books until the transfer window reopens in January, although that could prove a messy compromise if Ross remains adamant he does not want the 29-year-old anywhere near his first-team squad.

Ross has previously stated that he could not envisage a scenario where he selected Djilobodji for a senior game, and while legal discussions remain ongoing, he is confident he will not be forced to alter his stance unless he decides it is in the best interests of his team.

“I’ve been consistent in saying that a resolution would help,” said the Sunderland boss. “We’ve said that for a while now, and that is still the case.

“The club will make a decision, but they very much take counsel from me and where I’m at. The great thing about Stewart is that he’s done that from day one.

“I don’t want to go back over old ground, but there were various different situations that we inherited, and nothing has ever been forced upon me, which has been really encouraging. That’s how Stewart is as an owner, and from a personal point of view, I get on with him really well.

“He’s very open in his communication, and would never force a decision upon me. If there was something he felt was for the greater good of the club, then we’d have a discussion about it. Ultimately, he’s the owner, but the relationship is good, and if and when that ever became an issue, then we would discuss it properly.”

While Djilobodji is back in the North-East, Didier Ndong remains on unauthorised leave. The midfielder’s representatives remain in contact with officials at Benfica, with the Portuguese transfer window not due to close for another fortnight, but a deal is understood to be some way off.

Sunderland return to action with a home game against Fleetwood Town tomorrow, and their opponents’ manager, Joey Barton, has stoked the pre-match flames by claiming his side are superior to the Black Cats.

Dismissing talk of a ‘David versus Goliath’ clash, Barton, who regularly took digs at Sunderland during his time as a Newcastle United player, said: “If anything, I just see us as better than them, man for man”.

Ross is aware of Barton’s comments, but refused to be drawn into a tit-for-tat exchange with the former midfielder.

“I suppose Saturday will be a determining factor on that, to a degree, and the table at the end of the season will determine that too,” he said.

“The one thing I've done consistently throughout my management career is never really concern myself too much with what oppositions are doing - other than from a professional perspective. So we concern ourselves with our preparations to play them, but in terms of what the other team are doing and where they are at, it doesn't really bother me.”

Ross faces something of a selection dilemma ahead of tomorrow’s game, with the majority of his injured players having returned to full fitness at the same time.

Tom Flanagan and Charlie Wyke started Tuesday’s Checkatrade Trophy game with Stoke City, with Jerome Sinclair appearing as a substitute, while Glenn Loovens and Adam Matthews both completed a full training session yesterday morning.

“Glenn and Adam trained, and were fine,” said Ross. “Aiden (McGeady) did a little bit with us, which was encouraging. He’s still a bit away in terms of general fitness, but it was good to have him involved in the group. Duncan (Watmore) is continuing to work on his own, but is getting ever closer. That’s it now, which is really good.”

Ross’ toughest decision will come up front, with Wyke and Sinclair competing with Josh Maja and Chris Maguire for an attacking berth.

The Sunderland boss has been looking forward to having a full complement of forwards at his disposal, with each player offering a different set of attributes.

“Chris and Josh want the ball all the time, so their natural tendency is to come towards the ball,” he said. “They do it very well, but as you saw the other night, Jerome likes to stretch the game at times and Charlie will give you an option where he will compete aerially. It’s nice to have that available, either during the game or off the bench.

“That’s the biggest thing for us. If you’d said five or six weeks ago we would get through this period and be okay, and then have those players coming back, I’d have bitten your hand off for it. I knew we were going to have to play well in different ways to try to get a points total on board.”