INJURY UPDATE: Jenson Seelt's in-game injury issue worries Sunderland fans as Le Bris drops Nectar Traintis hint vs Sporting

Jenson Seelt’s in-game injury issue worries Sunderland fans as Le Bris drops Nectar Traintis hint vs Sporting

Standout Sunderland subplots and strange sightings as Sporting clash delivers more than just the score in Portugal

Régis Le Bris’ side faced Sporting CP – the reigning Portuguese champions – at the Estadio Algarve on Monday night, looking to build fitness and cohesion with the new season fast approaching.

From subtle off-the-ball moments and sidelined stars to behind-the-scenes glimpses and pre-match atmosphere, our Moments Missed piece brings you the smaller details that may have slipped under the radar – before, during and after the action.

Whether you were watching live on stream, following online, or catching up after the fact, here are a few things you might not have seen from Sunderland’s second pre-season outing of the summer:

Team selection and injury management

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Le Bris made two changes from the side that started against Sevilla. In goal, Blondy Nna Noukeu replaced Simon Moore, while Harrison Jones came in for Niall Huggins at left-back. It’s understood Huggins trained fully on Sunday and hasn’t suffered a setback, but Sunderland are managing his load carefully as he returns from long-term injury.

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Anthony Patterson was again absent from the squad, as Sunderland continue to take precautions over what has been described as a minor overload. Once again, Le Bris opted to change all 10 outfield players at the break, with several youngsters also handed a chance.

Reinildo Mandava was also not involved, having only recently linked up with the Sunderland squad in Portugal following his move from Atlético Madrid. The 31-year-old played in the Club World Cup last month with his former club and, after a short break, is being carefully eased back into action by the Sunderland staff.

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Sunderland’s starting XI (first half): Blondy Nna Noukeu; Trai Hume, Dan Ballard, Jenson Seelt, Harrison Jones; Noah Sadiki, Habib Diarra, Enzo Le Fée; Chemsdine Talbi, Simon Adingra, Eliezer Mayenda

Sunderland’s XI (second half): Blondy Nna Noukeu (Matty Young); Tom Lavery, Nectar Triantis, Zak Johnson, Jenson Jones; Patrick Roberts, Alan Browne, Dan Neil, Milan Aleksic; Timur Tutierov, Ahmed Abdullahi (Ogunsuyi)

Despite starting the second half, Ahmed Abdullahi was withdrawn for Trey Ogunsuyi around 25 minutes into the second stanza. The change appeared to be a pre-planned substitution rather than injury-related, with Abdullahi putting in an energetic shift leading the line. After his injury issues last season, it made sense for Sunderland to manage his workload with two games in three days.