SALIS ABDUL SAMED and Ahmed Abdullahi are approaching the end of their respective recoveries from injury - but Regis Le Bris expects the duo to follow different paths as they prepare to step up their involvement at Sunderland.

Both Samed, a combative central midfielder, and Abdullahi, a centre-forward, have been sidelined ever since moving to Wearside in the summer.

As a 19-time Ghana international, with more than 100 appearances in Ligue 1 under his belt, 24-year-old Samed should be capable of slotting straight into Le Bris’ first-team plans once he has completed his recovery from a muscular injury, which is anticipated to be sometime next month.

Abdullahi should also be able to return to training at around the same time, but as a 20-year-old who has made 38 of his 40 senior appearances in the Belgian third tier, the Nigerian is likely to need much longer to settle into his new surrounds and get used to the demands of the Championship.

“For Salis, we know what he can do,” said Le Bris. “We are waiting for his best fitness, but once he gets to that level, his experience means he could probably be ready to help the squad very quickly. I don’t exactly when that will be – hopefully, maybe mid-December, something like that.

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“For Ahmed, it is different because he is a much younger player. The right pattern with Ahmed should probably be that he will need time, although you never quite know, sometimes players can surprise you.

“I think he is talented, and he has many qualities as a striker. But we are still waiting for his first minute in a training session because so far, he didn’t train at all with us. That means it is much harder to know what level he will be at or how much time he might need.”

With Romaine Mundle, Ian Poveda and Jenson Seelt also due to return in the next month-and-a-half, Le Bris is hoping his options will have increased significantly by the time the January transfer window is in full swing.

“If all these players are fit, we should be okay after the next month,” he said. “It will help us a lot with the options we can have on the bench, but we have to wait.”