Sunderland’s injury list is extensive right now, and several of their strikers are noticeably missing from Regis Le Bris’ roster.

The recent loss of Aaron Connolly to Millwall has made things more challenging and limited the final third’s possibilities.

Remarkably, both Romaine Mundle and Tommy Watson have extended their absences from Sunderland, while Ian Poveda’s fitness issues seem to be throwing him for a loop every other week.

Ahmed Abdullahi, a summer acquisition for Sunderland who hasn’t made a first-team appearance since arriving, is another name on the lengthy list of absentees. However, Le Bris has a definite strategy in place for the undiscovered striker, so things are looking up for the 20-year-old Nigerian.

Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris outlines future plans for Ahmed Abdullahi ahead of injury return

With the return of several important players, Sunderland manager Le Bris will be eager to increase his attacking options. Attacker Abdullahi appears to be very close to making a comeback.

Since arriving with an injury, the Nigerian has not yet been used by Sunderland. The young player will first play with the U21s as part of Le Bris’s strategy to gradually introduce him into the main team.

Le Bris stated in an interview with The Northern Echo: “It’s challenging because he [Abdullahi] had surgery, so it is a little bit different to just a muscle injury.”

“But he has now trained fully for two weeks and so he should have some game time with the U21s soon. We’ll see him in a game and this is important, because it’s not always easy to assess what you can expect from a young player just from training. “It is different to Salis [Abdul Samed], for example, who has a lot of experience. But he showed good qualities, for sure. He’s a good striker with a high level of physicality, he is strong and he looks like a good finisher.

“Now it’s just a matter of playing; once we see him in the U21s, we’ll know how quickly he can get to know us.”

Black Cats fans must be patient with Ahmed Abdullahi amid injury return

As seen by the skills of players like Jobe Bellingham and, more recently, Adil Aouchiche, Sunderland has been quite successful lately in attracting elite prospects and getting the most out of them.

While many will be anxiously awaiting Abdullahi’s arrival, the French manager also hinted that “he will need time to develop.” Le Bris called Abdullahi “quick and strong.”

Any player will find it challenging to recover from an injury, but Abdullahi will face particular difficulties entering a new league at such a young age. Neither Le Bris nor Sunderland supporters should be overly impatient.