Brown injury issues nearly over

Wes Brown could be back in the Sunderland first-team before too long as he looks to recover from his latest injury setback.

Not a moment too soon either, with John O'Shea injured, Titus Bramble struggling for fitness and Matt Kilgallon putting in a defensive horror-show at Norwich City on Sunday.

The 33 year-old centre-back has been out for nearly 12 months with a succession of injury issues, culminating in a knee injury against Middlesbrough in the F.A Cup at the back end of January.

Brown now looks set to return to action sooner rather than later after finally overcoming the problem, which had been expected to sidelined him for a few weeks, for good.

Speaking to The Evening Chronicle, Martin O'Neill was upbeat about Brown's chances:

'Wes is making good progress, although the number of times I have said that is unbelievable,' admitted O'Neill.

"He is not that far away again from getting back into training.

"He has had a few setbacks, but he is working exceptionally hard.'

Owing to his persistent injury issues, Brown has made just seven appearances for the Black Cats under O'Neill.

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