Tony Mowbray has told Alex Pritchard his patience will be rewarded as the fit-again midfielder waits for a starting chance. Pritchard has not started a game since before Christmas, with a calf injury ruling him out for a couple of weeks and then when he attempted a return at the end of December he suffered a recurrence within minutes of entering the action as a substitute.
But he has been eased back into action this week, playing a little under half-an-hour of Sunderland's Championship draw at Millwall last weekend and then a similar chunk of the midweek FA Cup fourth round replay against Fulham on Wearside. Before his injury the 29-year-old was a key component in the Sunderland side, with his experience and footballing knowhow helping settle a team largely composed of players in their early 20s.
And he made a near-instant impact upon his return last weekend, providing the set-piece that led to Dennis Cirkin's equaliser at The Den. The next step for Pritchard is to win back his place in the starting XI but that will not be easy with Patrick Roberts, Amad, and Jack Clarke all currently in form.
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However, with Sunderland's game against Reading at the Stadium of Light tomorrow the first of five matches in the space of a fortnight, Mowbray will need to rotate his squad and that is likely to open the door for Pritchard. "Pritch is an important player for this football club," said Mowbray.
"He was in my office yesterday and I was having a good chat with him. I think he's very good for the team out of possession - he understands the game, he's got a really good football brain - and in possession we can play him anywhere, really, as a six alongside Dan Neil if we need to, we can play him really high alongside Amad as a second striker, or we can play him wide off either side.
"I told him not to worry. He's fit now, in his mind he's ready to go, and yet he understands that Amad has achieved what he has achieved, Patrick is on fire at the moment, and Jack Clarke has scored a couple of goals.
"So if he's going to play up front, he is going to have to be a little bit patient. Edouard [Michut] is doing pretty well alongside Dan Neil as well, so the team is functioning OK, but we are going to need everybody and as the rotations come over these three-game weeks he's going to get eased back the team and it might be someone else who is wondering why they are not starting this game or that game because Pritchard is playing instead."
Despite his injuries over the last couple of months, Pritchard's four assists means he still ranks joint second in the Sunderland squad by that measure - level with Roberts, and two behind Clarke.
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