Tony Mowbray reveals timeline for Dan Ballard Sunderland return
Sunderland will likely give Dan Ballard the World Cup break to recover his fitness following injury, but Tony Mowbray says he should be back in training soon.
Ballard joined Sunderland last summer from Arsenal and started impressively before fracturing his foot against Queens Park Rangers in what was just his third game for the Black Cats.
Despite Luke O’Nien deputising brilliantly, Ballard is still expected to be a key player for Sunderland this season, and he appears to be making good progress in his recovery.
Speaking about the chances of Dan Ballard being back before the World Cup break, Mowbray said: "I think there's a chance
“It'll depend where the team is - but I definitely think he'll be on the grass before the break. In my mind, if we are doing well at that point and the defensive unit is functioning, and we are not in a rush, we'd probably give him that time [the World Cup break] to train with the team and show me through that period that he needs to play because he is 6ft 4in, he's strong, he's fast, and he's good with the ball.
"It's going to be around and about the World Cup break [when Ballard is fit], but I do think he will be out on the grass before that break. It might be during that break that he does the training and gets himself back in contention."