Championship outfit Sunderland have provided an injury update on new signing Timothee Pembele as the player has yet to feature for the Black Cats since joining from Paris Saint-Germain.
Pembele made his debut with PSG three years ago but was forced to be patient with his demand for game-time during his stint with the French champions.
Unfortunately, a permanent break never came and the young defender made the switch to the Stadium of Light on transfer deadline day just two weeks ago for an undisclosed fee.
Speaking on the announcement of the player’s arrival, Sporting Director Kristjaan Speakman admitted that patience was needed over Pembele’s fitness [quotes via club media]:
“We will be patient with him as he builds his fitness and then competes for a place in our team, but we are delighted to welcome Timothée to Wearside and believe he can become an important player for us.”
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Pembele suffered a cruciate ligament injury last season with PSG, an issue he has yet to recover from. However, Sunderland have just provided supporters with an update on the versatile defender [quotes via an official club statement
Pembele is currently undergoing a personal maintenance programme alongside the club’s performance team, having returned to action earlier this year following a long-term injury.
“Pembele’s last competitive outing came in March, with his schedule set to build over the next month as he transitions to full training and first-team action.”
It could be several weeks before Sunderland fans are given a glimpse of what the French youth international can offer to Tony Mowbray at the back.
The statement seems to reveal that it will be a couple of weeks, or potentially even months before Pembele is back in action in a competitive football match.
The youngster is a superb defender but many supporters may feel a little frustrated by the news as they are hungry to see Pembele play for the first time.