The Sunderland manager Martin O’Neill has revealed that he expects the defender Wes Brown to return from injury in the next few weeks. The defender has been out of the first team action for a long time, but he has recently started training with the first-team. The former Manchester United defender has been suffering from the knee injury that has kept him out of action for more than a year. The 33-year-old was amongst the three Manchester United players signed by the former manager Steve Bruce. Due to the poor form experienced by Sunderland, O’Neill could certainly do with the presence of Brown in the back.

O’Neill has now revealed that Brown is close to getting to first-team action after seeing a specialist back in October in a bid to solve his injury problem. Another injury problem for O’Neill has been the fitness of John O’Shea, who has missed the last two matches. He will once again be out of the first team action according to the manager. Chelsea will be the visitors to the Stadium of Light during the weekend. O’Neill could have certainly done with the presence of a player like John O’Shea given his incredible experience, but he will know how to face the European champions without the former Manchester United man.

“Wes is making good progress, although the number of times I’ve said that is unbelievable. He’s not that far away again from getting back into training. He’s had a few setbacks, but he’s working exceptionally hard. It’s been a frustrating time for him and it must get you down when you’re out for that length of time. He’s responding well at this minute, quite well. We were worried about it, but he is getting better by the day,” said Martin O’Neill, whose Sunderland are closer to the relegation zone.