Tony Mowbray expects Daniel Ballard to return to training before next month's World Cup break - but it could be December before he is back in Championship action. Centre-back Ballard has been out since mid-August after suffering a fractured foot in Sunderland's 2-2 draw against QPR at the Stadium of Light.
His recovery is continuing apace and he is on target to resume training before the Championship pauses following the weekend of November 12-13 to accommodate the early stages of the winter World Cup in Qatar. Mowbray intends to give Ballard the benefit of the three-week break to get fully up-to-speed before Sunderland's campaign restarts with the home game against Millwall on December 3 - although he accepts that that plan could change if the Black Cats find themselves battling a defensive injury crisis before the break, in which case Ballard may come back sooner if he is fully-fit.
Asked whether Ballard would be 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.
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"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."
Ballard joined Sunderland from Arsenal over the summer and was immediately installed in the back line at the start of the season, bringing added height and pace to the defence. But the 23-year-old had played only three games before injury struck.
During his absence, the versatile Luke O'Nien has filled the gap as the right-sided centre-back alongside Danny Batth.
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