SUNDERLAND are set to be boosted by the return of Jobe Bellingham for Wednesday night's game against Luton Town - and there's further good news on the progress of Romaine Mundle and Alan Browne.

Bellingham missed Saturday's draw with Watford with a minor ankle injury but has been passed fit to play against the Hatters.

It's not clear at this stage whether Mundle will be involved at all on Wednesday but the winger is now back in full training having recovered from the hamstring injury that has kept him on the sidelines for the past three months.

Browne will also take a major step towards his return when he plays for the Under-21s against Huddersfield on Tuesday night. The experienced midfielder has been out of action since November with a leg fracture.

There was even more positive news on the injury front, with Tommy Watson fast approaching his return to full training.

But Jobe's return is the big positive for Sunderland ahead of Luton. The teenager was sorely missed against Watford.

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"He will be OK for tomorrow," said Regis Le Bris.

"It will be a boost because we need our big players, but we have said that before that we need depth in the squad. To be competitive in this league we need everyone.

"Alan is very close, which is good news for us. We need his experience in the dressing room. When a player is missing, you understand how important they are.

“Romaine is training fully with the team, Tommy will need one more week to be in contact training with the team

"Touch wood, we are very close to having a full squad. Another two or three weeks, we could have a full squad."

Meanwhile, Sunderland are in close contact with Liverpool as the Premier League leaders keep the Black Cats updated on the progress of Jayden Danns.

Danns joined Sunderland on loan on deadline day but had to return to his parent club for treatment after a back problem was detected in his medical.

Liverpool and Sunderland will remain in dialogue as Danns works his way through the problem and back to fitness.

"Liverpool are in touch with our medical staff but we have to wait a little bit," said Le Bris.

"He's a really young player so they won't take risks with him."