Larsson had surgery on a knee injury in August but is closing in on a return.
Sunderland midfielder Sebastian Larsson hopes that he will be back in contention for the first team after the international break, the Chronicle reports.
The midfielder has been sidelined with a knee injury after he had surgery on the medial ligament in August – which sidelined him for much of last season – and he is likely to get some game time for the under-23 side in the coming weeks.
Sunderland’s Sebastian Larsson in action
Larsson is quoted in the Chronicle, saying: “It’s a good schedule for me because there are some U23 games coming up in the next few weeks.
“And after the [first-team] Bournemouth game this weekend, there is an international break which has come at the right time for me as well.
“Hopefully by the end of that I’ll be ready to go – but if you ask me now, I already feel like I’m ready to go!
“Obviously, because I’ve been out for a while, I am not match-fit, but if the manager asks me to play then I am ready to play.”
Sunderland fans
It will be welcome for David Moyes to have another option available to him in the near future given the side has been hit pretty severely by injuries so far this season.
Larsson is obviously very keen to get going, but he will have to take things easy, and Moyes will have to ensure he isn’t rushed back after two lay offs with the same injury in a relatively short space of time.
It seems he is targeting games against Hull City after the international break for some kind of return, and then Liverpool. It’s potentially a difficult environment for a player to return within given their start to the season, but Larsson seems determined to get any game time under his belt – while some will hope his return can be a boost for the entire team.
Sunderland’s Sebastian Larsson (C) in action with Toronto’s Justin Morrow (L)
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