LEON DAJAKU is set to step into Sunderland’s squad for Saturday’s game at Fleetwood Town, but Lee Johnson remains determined to tread carefully with Denver Hume despite the full-back stepping up his training programme significantly this week.

Dajaku, a deadline-day signing on a season-long long from Union Berlin, did not feature in last weekend’s win over Accrington Stanley as Johnson did not feel he was quite up to speed with the demands of a matchday following his move with Germany.

He has built up his fitness successfully since then though, and after the entire Sunderland squad trained at the Stadium of Light rather than the training ground this morning, Lee Johnson is looking forward to using the 20-year-old forward in both Saturday’s league game and next week’s Carabao Cup tie at Wigan Athletic.

“I think he’s progressing well,” said Johnson. “He wasn’t a million miles off it, he just was unconditioned in terms of the match scenarios.

“He still is because obviously he hasn’t had a match, so we’ve got to work him up to that, but we’ve got an opportunity to play him in one of the next two games, Saturday and then Tuesday, and if he’s not starting, we can bring him off the bench in those games.

“I definitely think he’s got a start in him, and probably up to 55 or 60 minutes, or a game-changing 15 to 25 minutes in the second half.”

Hume is back in the fold after re-signing for Sunderland on a new two-year deal last week, and the full-back continues to make good progress after undergoing hamstring surgery in the summer.

He has not played for the Black Cats since sustaining the injury in the first leg of the play-off semi-final against Lincoln City, and given the length of his absence and the fact he missed the whole of pre-season, Johnson is determined to continue to tread carefully as he maps out a potential first-team return.

“He’s doing alright,” said Johnson. “He’s doing well. He’s trained – we’ve had three pretty tough days to be fair. Two in terms of on the pitch, and one off it, and he’s coped.

“He probably needs a day rest tomorrow now, but he’s moving well. He always moves well anyway, but he’s moving particularly well and looks powerful.

“I think we’ve got to be careful with it given the recurrence of the injuries before, but so far, so good. I’ve been happy with what my eyes have seen.”