Sunderland boss Roy Keane will be without striker Michael Chopra for Wednesday night's Carling Cup second round trip to Nottingham Forest.
The former Newcastle forward begins a three-match ban following his sending-off in pre-season, but new signings Djibril Cisse and David Healy will be included in the squad.
Anton Ferdinand will not make the trip even if he signs from West Ham on Monday as he is recovering from a hamstring problem, however Kieran Richardson should be fit despite picking up a rib injury at Tottenham at the weekend.
Dwight Yorke, Kenwyne Jones and Martyn Waghorn remain on the injury list.
Defender Kelvin Wilson should return to Nottingham Forest's side.
A back spasm prevented Wilson from featuring in Saturday's 3-2 win over Watford, but he has recovered and could slot straight back in the starting XI at the expense of Ian Breckin.
Attacking duo Andrew Cole and Nathan Tyson are both expected to continue their rehabilitation from injury against the Black Cats.
Cole, who joined Forest after being released by Sunderland earlier in the summer, came off the bench to make his competitive debut at the weekend after overcoming a calf problem.
Fellow forward Tyson, meanwhile, was also introduced as a substitute in the same game after being sidelined by a hamstring injury and made an instant impact, scoring the winner at the City Ground.
Manager Colin Calderwood has hinted the pair will now play some part against Roy Keane's men, but neither is likely to start.
Long-term injury absentees Paul Anderson (thigh) and Joe Garner (knee) remain out, while Lewis McGugan (torn thigh muscle) is expected to make his comeback after the international break. Arron Davies (calf) is also ruled out.
Sunderland (from): Gordon, Ward, Chimbonda, Nosworthy, Collins, Higginbotham, Bardsley, Edwards, Whitehead, Miller, Malbranque, Reid, Leadbitter, Richardson, Diouf, Murphy, Cisse, Stokes, Healy.
