In-form Sunderland striker Darren Bent could be cleared to play this weekend against Wigan after it was revealed that his hamstring injury is not as bad as first thought.
Manager Steve Bruce said: "Darren came on to the training ground this morning and worked with the physios.
"He worked in the gym yesterday and if he doesn't have a reaction from the work he has done this morning, then he has got an outstanding chance to be involved.
"The scans have revealed that there is no real tear there, so it was probably a matter of cramp and tightness.
"We will see how he is tomorrow, but that would obviously be a huge boost to us all if I have got him available.
"It's delightful. We were thinking at the beginning of the week that he was going to be out for at least three weeks with the slightest hamstring strain.
"With a muscle injury, you can't take any chances, so to see him bounding around the training ground today was fantastic news for us as a club because he is playing at the top of his game and performing very, very well."
