Phil Smith has claimed Dan Ballard is making good progress on his return to first-team action with Sunderland.
Ballard was a big signing over the summer for Sunderland they lured the English defender away from Arsenal’s youth ranks after he spent last season out on loan at Millwall in the Championship but he’s been restricted to just 189 minutes thus far.
This is because after starting the first two league game of the season, Ballard was then forced off nine minutes into his third appearance due to a foot injury and that’s kept him out ever since, but good news has recently emerged.
After speaking to Tony Mowbray, Smith revealed on the Sunderland Echo YouTube channel that Ballard was making good progress after turning out for the U21s on Monday.
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(0:30) “Dan Ballard is making really good progress which is exciting, he’s not had any issues with his comeback with the Under 21s on Monday but will Saturday come too soon? I suspect it might just be a bit.”
TIF Thoughts on Ballard’s return to fitness…
It appears that Mowbray is soon going to finally have what could be perceived as close to a fully fit first-team squad as he’s had since arriving at Sunderland with Ballard nearing a return and also star striker Ross Stewart set to be available for the Hull City clash.
Ballard is certainly an exciting talent having been thrown into first-team action immediately at the start of the season and at the age of 23 already has 10 caps under his belt for the Northern Ireland national side.
However, while being fit physically is one thing, getting back up to speed with the pace and intensity of the Championship is another thing and that’s something Mowbray will have to manage carefully with Ballard moving forward into a hectic fixture schedule.