The Ghana captain has missed two days' training this week with the persistent back problems that disrupted his season-long loan on Wearside last season.
But he has declared himself fit for tonight's quarter-final against Uruguay in Johannesburg, with Ghana the sole African side left in the competition and bidding to become the first ever team from the continent to qualify for the semi-finals of a World Cup.
]]>The Ghana captain has missed two days' training this week with the persistent back problems that disrupted his season-long loan on Wearside last season.
But he has declared himself fit for tonight's quarter-final against Uruguay in Johannesburg, with Ghana the sole African side left in the competition and bidding to become the first ever team from the continent to qualify for the semi-finals of a World Cup.
]]>After training with Buenos Aires club Estudiantes for the final time on Wednesday, Angeleri gave a farewell press conference at which he revealed he opted to move to Sunderland after being sold the Wearsiders' project by boss Steve Bruce.
Angeleri agreed terms with the Black Cats last month but has been waiting to receive clearance for an Italian passport which will remove the need for him to get a work permit.
]]>The defender is a long-standing target of Sunderland boss Steve Bruce, and reports in Egypt - where Al-Muhammadi plays for ENPPI - say that Sunderland have struck a deal for the 22-year-old.
ENPPI's football director Alaa Abdul-Sadek has confirmed that Sunderland will pay a £1m loan fee for the Egypt international right-back, with a further £1.5m due if the move is made permanent next summer.
]]>And the Black Cats boss has challenged them to kick off the new campaign by improving on last year's opening spell. The Sunderland squad - minus Paulo Da Silva and Cristian Riveros, who remain on World Cup duty with Paraguay - report for pre-season training next Wednesday and after a week of rigorous fitness drills, travel to Ireland, Portugal and Germany for a series of warm-up games.
They get their league campaign under way at home to Birmingham City on Saturday, August 14, followed by matches against West Brom, Manchester City and Wigan, before the more daunting prospect of fixtures pairing them with Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United.
]]>The right-back-cum-right midfielder was due on Wearside for a medical today after the Black Cats agreed a season-long loan from ENPPI with the option of a permanent deal next summer.
"We have agreed to loan the player for one season for half a million sterling," said ENPPI director of football Alaa Abdel-Sadeh.
]]>The Black Cats had the offer accepted last night and look set to seal the season-long loan by the end of the week - beating off competition from Premier League newcomers West Bromwich Albion, who made a late attempt to scupper the deal.
Reports in Egypt have suggested that the deal that was originally mooted as a permanent £2m transfer but that ENPPI backed down after Sunderland offered to pay in instalments.
]]>The Portsmouth striker heard talk the Black Cats' has been monitoring him while he was at the World Cup.
And now he has returned home he is waiting by the phone for it to turn into something more concrete.
]]>The Sunderland midfielder was one of several young players monitored by Fabio Capello's coaching staff last season and the abject failure in South Africa is likely to hasten his graduation to the senior set-up.
Henderson was watched by Capello's right-hand man Franco Baldini on several occasions last term, most recently in the 1-0 reverse against Manchester United at the end of May.
]]>The Baggies are threatening to out-bid the Black Cats in the race for long-term target Ahmed Al-Muhammadi.
Sunderland goalkeeper Marton Fulop is another on Roberto Di Matteo's shopping list, however.
Bruce is hoping to bring just a handful of players to the Stadium of Light this summer - and loan signing Al-Muhammadi is one of them.
]]>The Black Cats finished 13th in last season's Premier League, having started and ended the campaign well, either side of a three-month, mid-term slump.
That they steered clear of relegation was largely down to their solid home form, with just three league defeats at the Stadium of Light - to Chelsea, Manchester United and Aston Villa.
However, Bruce's side won just twice on the road - at Bolton and Hull - gleaning 10 points from a possible 57. In knock-out competitions they triumphed only once, at Norwich City in the Carling Cup.
]]>The Black Cats duo have been key men as Paraguay have powered into the last 16 of the World Cup - and Riveros has given tantalising glimpses of what Sunderland fans can expect next season. Riveros has illustrated the full remit of his abilities in South Africa, playing a disciplined holding role in Paraguay's opening draw with Italy.
He then scored an excellent goal in the defeat of Slovakia and was solid again during the stalemate with New Zealand that helped Paraguay beat deposed world champions Italy to the top of Group F. Bruce always anticipated Riveros making an impact in South Africa, which was part of the reason for his desire to tie up a deal for him before the tournament began. And if he replicates anything like his form at the World Cup then Sunderland will have bagged hemselves a bargain by bringing him in for nothing after his contract with Mexican side Cruz Azul ran out.
]]>The Sunderland striker was among Fabio Capello's provisional 30-man selection, but failed to make the cut for South Africa, despite scoring 25 goals for the Black Cats last season.
Instead, the Three Lions head coach opted for Wayne Rooney, Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch - all free-scoring for their clubs last term - and Emile Heskey.
]]>Ahmed Al-Muhammadi is expected on Wearside next week for talks over a season-long loan from ENPPI.
The 22-year-old, who can play anywhere down the right, has long been linked with the Black Cats after having a trial on Wearside in August.
]]>The Black Cats finished 13th in last season's Premier League, having started and ended the campaign well, either side of a three-month, mid-term slump.
That they steered clear of relegation was largely down to their solid home form, with just three league defeats at the Stadium of Light - to Chelsea, Manchester United and Aston Villa.
]]>