Kyle completes pain free comeback

The 6ft 3ins striker played alongside a youthful Sunderland second string, with only Martin Woods and Daryl Murphy having seen first team action this term.

Against a strong Boro side, featuring England winger Stewart Downing, transfer-listed keeper Mark Schwarzer and £8million forward Massimo Maccarone, the Black Cats succumbed to a 4-1 loss, with goals from Maccarone, Kennedy, Craddock and Johnson, while Murphy grabbed the only goal for Sunderland

However the scoreline will be of little concern to boss Mick McCarthy as he can now begin to think about having the Scottish international back in his first team squad for the first time this season.

Kyle told the official Sunderland website that he hopes to be in contention for first team selection by February: “They’re having to hold me back at the moment. It’s hard to put an exact date on it, but I should be there or thereabouts by the end of the month”.

Barring any setbacks Kyle should be lining up for his next reserve match against Blackburn on 24th January.

Register on this site via the drop down menu and leave feedback to this story below or click here to join in the debates on the forum.

Go on, get vitalled!