Birmingham defender Roger Johnson is expected to be fit for the hosts.
Johnson had to be substituted at half-time during last weekend's draw at Blackburn suffering from concussion.
But the former Cardiff player was able to return to training on Thursday and should be available to face the Black Cats.
Winger David Bentley and striker Nikola Zigic could come into contention after their respective groin problems have shown signs of improvement but centre-back Martin Jiranek (toe) and Obafemi Martins (groin) are again ruled out.
Steve Bruce believes he will field one of the youngest sides in Sunderland's history at Birmingham with injuries once again taking their toll.
Striker Fraizer Campbell is facing the possibility of a second operation to repair cruciate ligament damage, which would not only rule him out of the rest of the this season, but the bulk of the 2011-12 campaign as well.
Goalkeeper Craig Gordon will travel to Sweden to consult renowned knee specialist Professor Hakan Alfredson for a second time next Tuesday and will discover then if he too needs surgery.
Titus Bramble has revealed he will not play again this term because of his knee cartilage problem, while Anton Ferdinand (hamstring), John Mensah (groin), Sulley Muntari (calf) and David Meyler (knee) are all out.
Kieran Richardson (hamstring) is rated at 50-50, but England international Jordan Henderson is likely to be recalled and 19-year-olds Craig Lynch and Ryan Noble have been drafted into the squad.
Birmingham (from): Foster, Carr, Johnson, Ridgewell, Parnaby, Larsson, Ferguson, Gardner, Bowyer, Jerome, Phillips, Doyle, Davies, Murphy, Derbyshire, Fahey, Hleb, Mutch, Bentley, Zigic.
Sunderland (from): Mignolet, Gordon, Onuoha, Bardsley, Angeleri, Turner, Cattermole, Richardson, Riveros, Henderson, Malbranque, Elmohamady, Sessegnon, Zenden, Colback, Gyan, Welbeck, Noble, Knott, Adams, Lynch.
