Corry Evans’ recovery from long-term injury is progressing well and he could be back in full training around Christmas, according to Tony Mowbray. Northern Ireland midfielder Evans has been out of action since rupturing his cruciate ligament in Sunderland’s 2-0 win against Middlesbrough at the Stadium of Light in January.

But he has been doing some limited training out on the grass at the Academy of Light as he works his way back towards fitness. The 33-year-old is not expected to be ready to play a part in Sunderland’s Championship campaign until the New Year but Mowbray says he could be back training late next month.

“I think with that injury, we allocate a certain amount of time for it,” said Mowbray. “There’s a lot of stuff he’s doing that I don’t see – in the gym, strengthening, doing the work that needs to be

“When you’ve had a cruciate, you need to strengthen the whole body really. And yet he comes out onto the grass and does some strides up and down, does some little sidefoot passes against a bounce-board, but in my mind it’s still into the New Year [until he returns] probably.

“It will probably be Christmas time before he is back training with the group, and then the New Year before he is in contention, so he’s still a couple of months away.”

Elliot Embleton is another long-term injury absentee, with the 24-year-old – who joined Derby County on a season-long loan on deadline day – currently undergoing his rehab work on Wearside after undergoing surgery on a thigh injury he suffered early in his spell with the Rams. The injury was a real blow for Embleton, who had only just returned to action after eight months on the sidelines as a result of a broken ankle and ligament damage sustained while playing for Sunderland against Hull City at the MKM Stadium in December.

Mowbray said: “I haven’t seen Elliot around [the training ground] this week. We all feel for him, really, having been out for eight months [with a broken ankle] so then after the injury at Derby he was in a pretty low place for a while.

“This is why dressing rooms have to be tight and the players have to care about each other. He’ll be in that dressing room, the lads have to lift him because while they are putting their boots on and having a bit of banter before going out to train, he’ll be going the other way into the gym to do some very hard work on his own.

“It’s not ideal, it’s not nice, but hopefully everybody supports him and he’ll be back sooner rather than later. The sad thing about it for Elliot is that he just loves football – he just wants to play.

“I don’t think he minds if we say ‘you’re not going to play, go out on loan’, he just wants to play. He doesn’t want to be a sub, he doesn’t want to not play, he just wants to play.

“And he has amazing talent with both feet, he can take corners with his left and his right, he takes free-kicks with his left and his right, he just wants the ball in every five-a-side. It’s sad that he’s been deprived of that because of an injury, so we need to keep on supporting him.”