Fulham game too soon for Jones and Nosworthy

Sunderland will be without Kenwyne Jones and Nyron Nosworthy for the trip to Fulham as they continue to recover from their injuries.

The pair are back in full training but have been left out of the squad to travel down to Craven Cottage for Saturday's game, with Dwight Yorke also being deemed unlikely to play any part in the match following a long trip home from the Caribbean after playing for Trinidad & Tobago in midweek.

However, Black Cats manager Roy Keane has been boosted by the news that Teemu Tainio is ready to return to action after missing the last three matches.

Liam Miller could also play some part in the match but Keane admits that the pair will need to be assessed before being deemed fit enough to play.

"We'll have a look at them this morning, to see how fresh they are and we'll go from there," he said.

"It's been a strange start to the season, what with a couple of international breaks and it seems like ages since our last game' It's an important couple of months coming up, we'll get a chance to build on what has been a decent start."