GRANT LEADBITTER is ready to play through the pain of a dislocated shoulder in order to assist Sunderland’s promotion push in the final two months of the season.

Leadbitter was in agony when he dislocated his shoulder in last weekend’s draw at Crewe Alexandra, but a specialist this week concluded that it could be possible for him to nurse the problem for the next few weeks and continue playing rather than undergo an operation that would end his season.

There is a chance the dislocation could reoccur, which would almost certainly result in surgery, but while he will not be involved in tomorrow’s home game with Rochdale, Leadbitter is willing to make himself available for selection despite the discomfort he is in.

“Grant went to see a specialist, and the diagnosis was major trauma to everything in his shoulder,” said Johnson. “But it is a manageable situation. With the right strapping and the right conditions, it can be managed.

“There is a risk that it might pop out again, but I think Grant is probably willing to take that risk. Maybe not necessarily over the short term, but over the medium term as he gets stronger and starts to feel a bit more comfortable.

“He looked an American football player today because he had a nice thick padding, but hopefully that will help him and his confidence.

"The situation will always remain the same – there’s a 50 per cent chance that his shoulder will pop out again – and if it does, then I think it will require surgery. But at the moment, there are protective measures we can use to aid the healing and mitigate against the chances of it popping out again.”

With the Black Cats’ appearance at Wembley in the Papa John’s Trophy now just over a week away, a number of Sunderland’s injured players are returning to fitness at an ideal moment.

Tom Flanagan and Bailey Wright are both almost ready to return from lengthy lay-offs, while Ross Stewart is expected to make his Sunderland debut in the next couple of weeks after stepping up his recovery from the hamstring issue that accompanied him on his move from Ross County.

Denver Hume was also involved in some of today’s training session, and while the full-back remains some way off a first-team return, the initial fears that he would not play again this season have thankfully been allayed.

“Denver has had a long injury lay-off,” said Johnson. “It’s really been the whole time I’ve been here because he did it in that first game. You need to tick the boxes and there are steps to getting back to a first-team game.

“He’s been in controlled training which is good, and is moving well. That means we can step it on, and ideally, you’d want a player like that to get one or two 90 minutes, or at least 45 minutes, before even considering a first-team return.”