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Sunderland Injury Blow Sees Regis Le Bris Make Major Europa League Squad Swap
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- Sunderland Injury Blow Sees Regis Le Bris Make Major Europa League Squad Swap
Sunderland injury blow creates squad change ahead of Dinamo Zagreb clash
Sunderland midfielder Habib Diarra has suffered another unfortunate injury blow and will be sidelined for at least six weeks, which has seen Regis Le Bris replace him for Chemsdine Talbi in the Black Cats' Europa League squad ahead of Thursday evening's home clash against Dinamo Zagreb.
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Earlier in the campaign, Talbi was omitted from Sunderland's Europa League squad due to the uncertainty regarding his future after his links with a move to the Saudi Pro League , and has therefore been unable to feature in the first three games of the competition despite remaining at the Stadium of Light.
Thankfully, Sunderland managed to remain unbeaten in the absence of the Moroccan winger, picking up wins over AZ Alkmaar and SCU Torreense, with a draw against Lech Poznan last time out in Europe ahead of this week's visit of Croatian champions Zagreb.
UEFA rules have allowed Sunderland to make the change, but mean that Diarra cannot feature in the Europa League until at least 60 days after the date of his injury, but could feature in the Premier League or Carabao Cup sooner if the Senegalese star recovers.
Chemsdine Talbi (R) has replaced Habib Diarra in Sunderland's Europa League squad (IMAGO / NurPhoto)
Regis Le Bris Explains Sunderland Europa League Squad Change
Ahead of the Zagreb clash, Le Bris confirmed that Diarra had suffered a muscle injury, just weeks after recovering from a hamstring strain he suffered in the win over Fulham back in late August, in which he came on as a substitute to provide the assist for Wilson Isidor's winner before being forcefully withdrawn due to injury after a short yet impactful cameo.
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Diarra, as well as fellow long-term abscentees Dan Ballard and Romaine Mundle, will miss Thursday's visit of Zagreb as Le Bris admitted that Sunderland "are sad" for the Senegalese midfielder who has had rotten luck with injuries since arriving at the Stadium of Light from Strasbourg for £30m in the summer of 2025.
Le Bris told his pre-Zagreb press conference : "We don't have many injuries, just serious ones.
"Habib sustained a hamstring injury in training and will face a spell on the sidelines.
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"For Habib, probably around six weeks from the first diagnosis. We are sad for him."
On Ballard, Le Bris added: "This morning, he was on the bike, which is really good. He's really close to being able to run on the pitch. The target is mid-December."
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Despite the unfortunate nature of Diarra's injury, the reinstatement of Talbi offers the Sunderland boss another much-needed attacking threat, with the Moroccan winger in improved form having netted in the Black Cats' 3-2 Carabao Cup win over Brentford last week when operating in the number ten role.
Less competition for places in central midfield now also offers the platform for young midfielder Jules Ahoka to continue shining in the early stages of his Sunderland career, with the 20-year-old prodigy in contention to start against Zagreb after his dominant showing against the Bees.
With Zagreb also without a permanent manager after they parted company with head coach Mario Kovacevic at the weekend before their trip to the Stadium of Light, Sunderland have a golden opportunity to continue their unbeaten Europa League streak against the Croatian outfit on Thursday night.
