Sunderland first team duo set to return from injury – and fresh Alan Browne timescale

Ian Poveda will also feature for the Black Cats at the Stadium of Light after recovering from his latest setback.

And Ahmed Abdullahi is likely to get another outing as he gets further crucial match minutes under his belt after his first appearance in red and white for the Under-21s last week.

For Seelt, it will be a first appearance since March last year when he suffered a serious knee injury that required surgery.

Poveda, meanwhile, has endured a desperately frustrating start to life on Wearside since his summer arrival. The former Leeds United winger has played just 44 minutes of first team action so far, with the first half of the season disrupted by numerous setbacks.

With that in mind, Sunderland will be patient with the winger in the coming weeks in the hope there are no further setbacks.

Abdullahi, who needed groin surgery after joining from KAA Gent in the summer, got 45 minutes under his belt for the Under-21s on Friday and will continue his progress with a few further outings for Murty’s side.

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Updating on injuries, Le Bris said: “Jenson is training fully with us now and will play the first part of the game against Benfica in the U21s on Wednesday evening.  Ian should also play against Benfica.

“Ahmed will need some more time because he was injured for a long time and he’s a young player. To be ready for the first team, i think he is going to need two or three games with the U21s.”

Sunderland will soon be boosted by the return of Alan Browne, who is a week away from being ready to rejoin training. The midfielder has been out of action since early November with a broken bone in his leg.

Le Bris said: “With Browney, he needs one week more before he can join us in full training.”

Tonight’s opponents Derby have lost their last four Championship games, but Le Bris said: “It will be a tough game but we have to be very respectful about all the teams in the league. If they can have difficult periods, they are still able to beat every other team.

“They can be very intense, they can play different options and in open play, they are doing very well. If we don’t play at our best level, it will be tough.”