Bruce eyes instant recovery

Steve Bruce is confident his players will put their Boxing Day defeat at Manchester United behind them when they host Blackpool on Tuesday.

And he is banking on the return of players, unavailable for the game at Old Trafford, to make all the difference.

“The games come thick and fast at this time of year and the one good thing about the Man United game is that we have a chance to bounce back pretty much immediately,” he said.

Just 48 hours after Sir Alex Ferguson’s side outplayed Bruce’s under-strength team, Sunderland take on a Blackpool outfit who have impressed in their first season in the Premier League.

But Bruce is bullish about his side’s prospects and is grateful for the return of key players.

“It was always going to be difficult against Man United with the players we had absent but we should have three or four of them back for the Blackpool game and I think that will make such a difference,” he said.

“Lee Cattermole will have served his one-match suspension and he’ll come straight back into the side – he’ll be a big influence.”

“We’ll have Danny Welbeck back – obviously he couldn’t play against his parent club on Boxing Day – and he’s been in great form of late.”

“And on top of that, we expect Kieran Richardson to have recovered from his cold and for Titus Bramble to potentially be available.”

Bruce added that the decision on whether to re-call Bramble will be one of the bigger ones he faces this season.

The commanding centre-half has handed the club a boost by resuming full training weeks earlier than expected after damaging knee ligaments after Sunderland’s stirring win over Chelsea in mid-November.

Bruce said: “The improvement in Titus’s situation is the big one for us.”

“Titus has been a star for us this season – a real contender for Player of the Season – and the sooner we have him back the better.”

“He has been a big part of our defensive strength but it’s a tricky decision and one that I’ll probably leave to the last minute.”