ROSS STEWART is on track to return from injury at the end of the World Cup break – with Aji Alese, Lynden Gooch and Dennis Cirkin also expected to be available for Sunderland’s return to action next month.

The Black Cats signed off in style on Friday night as they claimed a 2-1 win at Birmingham City, and now face a three-week break before they return to action with a rearranged home game against Millwall on December 3.

Stewart has been sidelined since suffering a thigh injury during the warm-up ahead of September’s Tees-Wear derby defeat to Middlesbrough, but having returned to light training in the last week, the Scotland international should be available for the start of next month.

Alese and Gooch should also be ready to return from long-term lay-offs of their own against Millwall, with Cirkin, who missed Friday’s win at St Andrew’s because of a minor injury issue, and Luke O’Nien, who was suspended for the Birmingham game, also expected to be part of the squad.

Dan Ballard, who has been absent since August, could still be a couple of weeks away from full fitness when the Championship programme resumes, but having been without so many of his key performers for so long, Tony Mowbray cannot wait to start welcoming players back in the next couple of weeks.

“It’s good for me that we have some options,” said the Sunderland head coach. “We’ll have options at centre-half when Ballard, Aji and O’Nien are available, and we’ll have options up front when Ross is fit and Ellis (Simms) gets super-fit too.

“All of a sudden, the competition for the places behind them – the likes of (Elliot) Embleton, (Alex) Pritchard, (Patrick) Roberts and (Jack) Clarke – becomes competitive.”

In the absence of Gooch and O’Nien, Trai Hume lined up at right-back on Friday night, with a fit-again Niall Huggins on the opposite flank.

The pair played crucial roles in Sunderland’s victory, and while Hume, in particular, has had to be patient as he has waited for an opportunity to impress under Mowbray, he now finds himself at the forefront of his manager’s thoughts.

“He’s (Hume) really good in the air, he’s got amazing spring and he’s very determined,” said the Black Cats boss. “You could see how excited he was about showing us what he could do.

“He has been on the periphery because we have gone with Gooch and then O’Nien, so he probably feels like he is the third-choice right-back. Then, Huggins is coming back, so is he fourth-choice right-back? Well, if he plays like that every week, he will be number one right-back.”