It's over a year since Corry Evans pulled on the red and white shirt of Sunderland and his return is edging nearing.

The Northern Ireland international picked up an anterior cruciate ligament injury against Middlesbrough on 22 January 2023 before undergoing surgery which has kept him out for the last 13 months.

Interim head coach Mike Dodds has revealed Evans will get his first minutes on his road to recovery for the Under-21s either this week or next.

The young Black Cats take on Nottingham Forest U21s and Manchester City U21s, with Bradley Dack, who picked up a hamstring injury against Hull City on Boxing Day, also set to play a part in either fixture.

"Yeah, they've got a couple of games coming up and Corry's plan is to play 45 minutes," Dodds told We Are Sunderland. "I'm not sure if it's the one on Friday or the one on Monday.

"I think on Monday, the plan is he'll get some minutes in that. We've just got to be careful with Corry because he's a big boost on the training field, the same with Dacky.

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"You've got two experienced footballers that are back on the training pitch which from my perspective is really important. Particularly for Corry who has been out for over a year. 

"To expect him to come back in and hit the ground running is an unrealistic expectation. The plan for Corry is to pay 45 minutes and we'll see how he reacts after Monday."

When asked if midfielder Dack was in a similar position, Dodds said: "Yeah he's in a similar boat. The plan for him is to get 45 minutes and we'll slowly ease them back in and see where we are in the next seven to ten days."