Cole ruled out of 'Boro clash

Andrew Cole will have to wait to make his senior debut for Sunderland after being ruled out of tomorrow’s derby trip to Middlesbrough with a calf problem.

However, manager Roy Keane’s former Republic of Ireland team-mate Ian Harte could be included for the first time after coming through an outing for the reserves unscathed in midweek.

Defender Russell Anderson (calf) could be back, but Kieran Richardson (back), Carlos Edwards (hamstring) and Dean Whitehead and Stanislav Varga (both knee) are out.

Provisional squad: Gordon, Ward, Nosworthy, Halford, Kay, McShane, Anderson, Higginbotham, Collins, Harte, Wallace, Etuhu, Yorke, Miller, Leadbitter, Chopra, Jones, Stokes, Murphy, Connolly, O’Donovan.