TONY MOWBRAY remains hopeful Ross Stewart will sign a new contract with Sunderland, but fully understands why the striker is commanding attention from elsewhere in the Championship ahead of the transfer window.

Having been sidelined since suffering a thigh injury in September, Stewart was back in full training this morning and is set to be part of the squad that will travel to Hull City this weekend.

His return will be a major boost to the Black Cats, but his future remains a subject of considerable conjecture given that his current contract is due to expire in the summer.

Sunderland have the option of triggering a 12-month extension, but the Black Cats hierarchy would rather tie Stewart down to a new long-term deal. However, while an initial round of discussions took place as long ago as the summer, ongoing talks between the club and the striker’s representatives have failed to result in an agreement.

The uncertainty has encouraged some of Sunderland’s Championship clubs to prepare a January move for the 26-year-old, with the Wearsiders’ North-East rivals, Middlesbrough, expected to be at the front of the queue, but while he is not involved in the finer details of contractual discussions, Mowbray is still hoping Stewart will commit his long-term future to the Stadium of Light.

“It’s no surprise if Ross is getting linked with other teams,” said the Sunderland head coach. “He’s a good player – I know his data is still right up there at the top end of the division for strikers.

“I see a lad who wants to train, wants to work and wants to help our team. I see him grafting away at what he does, and when I watch the training, I see a really good player who links the play really well as well as getting on the end of things that come into the box. We’re just looking forward to having him back in the fold really and for him to help us win some football matches.

“All the noise going around him, I can’t really affect that. I just try to keep the relationship strong so he knows how important he is to our team and club.

“It’s not my role to put a gun to his head and say, ‘You have to sign this contract’. The bottom line is that himself, his agent and the club will be in discussions about those things, and fingers crossed we get to a conclusion where he signs and stays here because he sees this as an amazing vehicle to progress his career in the right direction and help this club prosper at the same time.”

Stewart missed Monday’s 2-1 defeat to West Brom after complaining of fresh pain in his thigh in the wake of a training-ground game against Middlesbrough last week.

After discussions with his medical staff, Mowbray opted not to risk the striker against the Baggies, but Stewart has been able to return to full training in the last 24 hours.

Provided there are no further setbacks, he will travel to Humberside with the rest of Sunderland’s first-team squad, although his lack of competitive action in the last three months means he is unlikely to feature in the starting line-up against Hull.

“You get wary of saying what’s going to happen because I said yes (he would be available) last week when I was asked about Ross on the back of him having played for 60 minutes,” said Mowbray. “But he’s had a full training session today.

“It was quite an intense training session in the snow. Fingers crossed there’s no reaction tomorrow, and then he will hopefully travel with us. Let’s see if we can get him included.

“I did say that last week, and I understand there was a frustration that he wasn’t on the squad list for the midweek game, but fingers crossed there’s no reaction after training today and then he trains tomorrow and gets on the coach with us.”