Wayne Bridge has gone straight into the Sunderland squad for tomorrow night’s Barclays Premier League clash with Norwich after completing a loan move from Manchester City.
The 31-year-old full-back, who has not played a competitive game since September, is included in the midst of an injury crisis which has robbed manager Martin O’Neill of defenders Wes Brown (medial ligament), Titus Bramble (Achilles/foot) and Matt Kilgallon (ankle).
Midfielder David Vaughan (ankle ligaments) is likely to be sidelined for several weeks while skipper Lee Cattermole (hamstring) remains a doubt, and the manager will hope Fraizer Campbell has had no reaction to his first senior appearance in 17 months at the weekend following two serious knee injuries as Nicklas Bendtner recovers from a fractured nose.
Provisional squad: Mignolet, Westwood, Bardsley, Bridge, O’Shea, Turner, Richardson, Gardner, Larsson, Elmohamady, McClean, Meyler, Colback, Sessegnon, Wickham, Ji, Campbell.