ROSS STEWART will return to action in a midweek practice game against Middlesbrough – with Tony Mowbray hopeful the striker will be available for Sunderland’s Championship home game against West Brom a week on Monday.

Stewart returned to full training last week, but was not involved in the matchday squad for today’s 3-0 home win over Millwall.

The Scottish striker has been sidelined since damaging his thigh during the warm-up ahead of September’s Tees-Wear derby defeat to Middlesbrough, and did not play in last month’s friendly with Al-Shabab despite travelling to Dubai with the rest of Sunderland’s first-team squad.

He is set to feature in a training-ground game with Middlesbrough on Wednesday though, with Mowbray confident he made the right decision not to name him on the substitutes’ bench this afternoon.

Mowbray said: “At the end of the day, what matters is my relationship with Ross and with the medical department, where trust is really important.

“The medical department thought it was dangerous to pick him. If he started or came off the bench and had to come off again, your questions would be about whether it was worth the risk we’d taken.

“I think he needs to have trained for a week - we've got a bounce game against Middlesbrough on Wednesday and we might give him some minutes in that. He was chomping at the bit, and he thinks he's ready, so hopefully by next Monday he will be ready.

“We don't think Dan Ballard is too far behind either - someone just said in the dressing room there's two of our very best players, we can only get better. Let's hope that proves to be the case.”