‘The lads felt the danger’ – Le Bris hails Sunderland response and gives update on Xhaka

Sunderland boss Régis Le Bris has revealed Granit Xhaka suffered a calf injury during his side’s 1-0 win over Chelsea.

The midfielder’s setback will now be assessed, with Le Bris unable to put a timeframe on his absence.

“It looks like a calf injury, but we don’t know exactly the timeframe at the minute,” he said.

There was plenty of praise, meanwhile, for Brian Brobbey, who played a key role in Sunderland’s victory despite not getting on the scoresheet.

“I think it’s a powerful driver for him. The more he’s frustrated, the better he is,” Le Bris said.

“His physicality, his intensity, is impressive for sure.

“Against a team that wants to press in the build-up, it’s so important to have a target man and Brian is one of those players.

“He probably deserved to score but he was so important.”

The victory, thanks to Enzo Le Fee’s penalty, was a significant one for Sunderland after a difficult recent run, and Le Bris admitted his players understood the importance of responding.

“The journey is really demanding. We need to adapt,” he said.

“And I think the lads felt the danger as well, it’s important to take this into account.

“It’s important to do it now because if it’s later, it will be too late.

“I told them the target is still 40 points so a long way to go, but the reaction and what we showed as a group and individually as well was really important.”