Sessegnon set for fitness test before Newcastle clash

Sunderland boss Martin O’Neill will assess striker Stephane Sessegnon ahead of Sunday’s derby trip to Newcastle after he was delayed on his return from international action.

The 27-year-old was not on Wearside this morning following a problem with his flights back from Benin’s African Nations Cup 0-0 qualifier draw in Ethiopia on Wednesday.

Sweden midfielder Sebastian Larsson is expected to be available after complaining of feeling unwell before he scored twice in his country’s 3-1 victory in Croatia, as is striker Nicklas Bendtner (ankle), but keeper Keiren Westwood (wrist) is out and Craig Gordon is likely to take his place on the bench and full-back Phil Bardsley (calf) remains a doubt.

Provisional squad: Mignolet, Gordon, Bardsley, Bridge, O’Shea, Turner, Kyrgiakos, Kilgallon, Lynch, Richardson, Gardner, Larsson, Elmohamady, McClean, Meyler, Colback, Sessegnon, Bendtner, Wickham, Ji, Campbell.