Tony Mowbray shares injury update on Aji Alese ahead of Sunderland's play-off clashes

Sunderland remain without a number of key first-team players for their upcoming Championship play-off semi-final clashes v Luton Town.

The first of their two semi-final play-off legs against the Hatters takes place at the Stadium of Light on Saturday evening.

And ahead of the game, Sunderland have been dealt a couple of fresh injury blows with Dennis Cirkin and Lynden Gooch looking doubtful to feature.

Add to that the exclusion of Dan Ballard, as well as the longer-term injuries to the likes of Corry Evans, Danny Batth, Elliot Embleton, Jewison Bennette, Niall Huggins, Ross Stewart, and Aji Alese, and Sunderland's injury list currently makes for grim reading.

But Tony Mowbray has given an injury update on the last name on that list - Alese.

The summer signing from West Ham has missed the last several weeks of action with a thigh injury and speaking to ChronicleLive ahead of Saturday's game, Mowbray ruled out the 22-year-old, saying:

"Aji has been out there with the physios today, side-footing volleys and running in and out of cones, but he hasn’t kicked a ball for nine weeks."

Amid defensive injuries earlier in the campaign, Alese came into the starting XI and gradually asserted himself as a really key player for Mowbray.

The Englishman boasts a great amount of physical and technical prowess, eventually racking up 20 league appearances in his first season at the Stadium of Light.

But it looks like he might have played his last game this season with the play-off fixtures coming up in quick succession.

Mowbray though looks like he could have the bulk of his sidelined players back some time in the summer and he'll be hoping that the majority of them can regain fitness before the start of next season, which could yet be a Premier League campaign for the Black Cats.

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