Lynden Gooch will step up his return to full fitness with an outing for Sunderland in the Dubai friendly against Al-Shabab this afternoon.

Gooch hasn’t played for the Black Cats since suffering a foot injury in the win over Wigan in mid-October, but the 26-year-old has been training with the squad in Dubai this week and says he feels “good and fit”.

He’s now relishing the opportunity to get some match minutes under his belt in the friendly, which kicks-off at 1pm UK time, and providing there are no setbacks, will hopefully be in contention to make a return to the squad when Sunderland host Millwall in the Championship a week on Saturday.

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“It’s been good on a personal note to be back training with the team,” Gooch told Sunderland’s club website as he reflected on the Dubai training stint so far.

“I was out for five weeks so it's good to be back and getting in the swing of things. I feel good, I feel fit. It's all about getting touches of the ball, getting the rustiness away and getting ready for next week when we get home.”

Ahead of today’s friendly, Gooch added: “To get some minutes in the legs is ideal for myself and everyone having a week off. It will be tough in the heat but good in the long run.”

Gooch and his Sunderland teammates met supporters on Wednesday evening after an open training session in Dubai. After two training sessions that day, the players signed autographs, posed for pictures and chatted with fans.

Gooch said: “There are Sunderland fans everywhere so it doesn't really matter where we go, there's always going to be a few. It's been good for them because it’s rare for them to have us on their doorstep.

“Our fans are everywhere and its great we get to do things like this.”

Asked what he was talking to fans about, Gooch said: “Mainly the season so far and I was also asked about this group and how it compares to other years. It’s great for the fans and it’s nice to be able to spend time with them.”

Boss Tony Mowbray told of the importance of seeing injured players back on the training pitch during the Dubai trip. Sunderland provided fans with a promising peek from the training ground earlier this week when striker Ross Stewart was filmed back in training.

The striker has been sidelined since the win over Rotherham at the end of August.

After today’s friendly, Sunderland will head back to the UK on Sunday as attention turns to next Saturday’s visit of Millwall.

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