AJI ALESE expects to be available to face Millwall when Sunderland return to domestic duty next weekend after stepping up his recovery from injury during the recent training camp in Dubai.

Alese has been sidelined since suffering a foot injury in October’s 2-0 win at Blackburn, but having increased his training load prior to the World Cup shutdown, the summer signing from West Ham was able to take part in full sessions in the Middle East.

He played for 45 minutes of Friday’s friendly win over Saudi Arabian side Al-Shabab, and is confident he will be operating at full tilt by the time Sunderland return to Championship action at the Stadium of Light on Saturday lunchtime.

“It was only 45 minutes, so I need to get back up to 90 minutes, but overall, it was good,” said Alese. “It’s always tough to get injured.

“Your job is a footballer and you want to be out there playing, but this international break means I didn’t miss as many games as I would have if it was, let’s say, the beginning of January.

“I was lucky in that sense, but I’ve just been working hard. I was in last week (before the Dubai trip) when some of the other lads were off and got myself back. I’m happy to be back.”

Like the rest of the footballing world, Alese and the rest of Sunderland’s players are having to get used to an enforced mid-season break because of the winter World Cup.

Last week’s camp in Dubai helped ensure Tony Mowbray’s squad continued to keep themselves ticking over, and should mean they are able to hit the ground running when Millwall visit Wearside next weekend.

“I think it’s the first time some of us have ever experienced something like this, but it gave an opportunity for some of us to get back to fitness where we would have missed more games,” said Alese, in an interview with Sunderland’s official media channels.

“This week has been hard, but it’s been good, and hopefully we’ve gained a lot from it. We go back in a couple of days, and we’ve got Millwall in a couple of days.

“Next week’s training will just be geared up for that. We’ve got the December run and the New Year’s run, which is always tough, so we’ve got to be ready for that.”