SUNDERLAND expect to be in a position where they can make their belated return to action with a trip to Northampton Town on Saturday.

Having already had three matches postponed because of the Covid outbreak that has seen 13 senior players record positive test results, the Black Cats were forced to call off a fourth fixture yesterday when tomorrow’s scheduled trip to Accrington Stanley was cancelled.

A large number of Sunderland players are still having to self-isolate, with a significant section of Lee Johnson’s first-team squad not due to end their isolation period until the day of the Accrington game. Significantly, all three of the club’s goalkeepers have recorded a positive test result since the outbreak began in the wake of this month’s victory at Lincoln City.

Given that they will not have trained for a fortnight, that effectively renders them unavailable for the trip to the Wham Stadium, so Sunderland officials informed the EFL they would be unable to play tomorrow’s game.

Sunderland’s players are due to have a phased return to training this week, and Johnson hopes to be working with the majority of his squad by Wednesday or Thursday.

Each player who has tested positive for Covid will be closely monitored by the club’s medical staff to ensure they are not suffering any physical after-effects from the illness.

Provided there are no unexpected issues, Sunderland should be able to return to action at Sixfields on Saturday with a game against Northampton.

They will then have to work with the EFL to fit four extra matches into a schedule that is already extremely packed, and that will become even more congested if there is further progress in the Papa John’s Trophy. Johnson’s side, who have dropped to 11th, will be playing midweek matches for pretty much the whole of the second half of the season. They already have three games in hand on some of the teams above them, and are four points off the play-off positions.