Shock Move: Sunderland Boss Le Bris to Sideline Star Midfielder Dan Neil Over Crucial Easter Weekend

Sunderland head coach Régis Le Bris is preparing to rest team captain Dan Neil for at least one of the club’s fixtures during the busy Easter weekend. While fellow midfielders Jobe Bellingham and Chris Rigg have both been given breaks in recent weeks, Neil has continued to feature regularly, even with Sunderland having already secured a spot in the Championship play-offs. In fact, the midfielder has started every league match since late August, only missing out on the starting XI once throughout the season.

That impressive run is expected to pause soon, as Le Bris is planning to leave Neil out of the squad for either the Good Friday clash away at Bristol City or the Easter Monday home encounter with Blackburn Rovers. Le Bris is also hoping to give Trai Hume a rest, although limited options at centre-back and full-back could complicate that decision. He acknowledged the difficulty of rotating defensive players due to the current squad depth, particularly in the back line.

“I hope we can manage it with Dan and Hume,” Le Bris stated. “Ideally, it’s best for players to play just one match a week to maintain rhythm. But with two matches so close together, giving them one game off is even better. Unfortunately, we’re stretched in some positions, and that makes things tricky—especially in defense.”

However, Le Bris is more optimistic about resting Neil thanks to the return of Abdul Samed Salis and the expected readiness of Enzo Le Fée, both of whom could step into midfield roles. This squad rotation strategy has been a consistent theme for Sunderland in recent weeks, as Le Bris works to keep his core players fresh and fit ahead of the upcoming play-off semi-finals.

Even though Sunderland’s play-off place is already confirmed, Le Bris insists that squad management would still be essential due to the tight turnaround between Friday’s and Monday’s matches. “We absolutely have to manage the squad in these next two games,” he emphasized. “Playing two matches in such a short window means we need to carefully control players’ minutes.”