Three ways Black Cats could line up without Sadiki against Wolves

Régis Le Bris is weighing up a potentially significant selection headache as Sunderland prepare for a crucial game against Wolves on Saturday.

- by Phil Smith

Noah Sadiki has withdrawn from the DR Congo squad due to what his national team say is an ankle sprain.

Sadiki will undergo further assessments on Wearside and while the Black Cats will hope that it is not a serious injury, he clearly has emerged as a major doubt for Saturday's game at the Stadium of Light.

So what are Le Bris's options if he isn't fit? Here we take a look at three different XIs he could choose from, and which we think might be most likely...

THE (ALMOST) STRAIGHT SWAP

In truth, Noah Sadiki's quite incredible athleticism probably means there is no direct replacement in the squad.

If he does miss any games, Le Bris will likely have to go through something of a reshuffle to ensure that Sunderland's defence isn't exposed.

The simplest way to do that would be to bring in Dan Neil, who has played both an as eight and a holding midfielder on many occasions in his career.

While Chris Rigg and Enzo Le Fée have more minutes this season, they've not played much in central midfield together and that's perhaps no surprise - both are excellent players who are happy to get stick in, but it represent a very attacking combination if they played as the two eights.

Neil could add additional discipline out of possession alongside Granit Xhaka, with Rigg or Le Fée playing as the ten.

While Neil has had only a handful of minutes in the Premier League this season, Le Bris has repeatedly said that he trusts the midfielder and he is clearly going to be needed with AFCON begins.

So why not now?