Sunderland and Sheffield United are monitoring the fitness of a number of players ahead of Saturday’s Championship play-off final – although it appears the Blades are set to receive the more positive news on the injury front ahead of the trip to Wembley.

As revealed by The Echo on Tuesday evening, Black Cats winger Romaine Mundle has emerged as a major injury doubt ahead of the Wembley showdown as he struggles to shake off a hamstring injury that meant he was unable to train ahead of the semi-final second leg against Coventry City. The former Tottenham Hotspur and Standard Liege wideman has scored five goals and provided two assists in 24 appearances in all competitions during his first season at the Stadium of Light but missed the Black Cats’ final six games of the Championship season and the first leg with the Sky Blues before making a 25-minute substitute appearance in the second leg last week.

Patrick Roberts is also being monitored ahead of the journey to the capital as he contends with a minor calf injury and there is some hope Aji Alese could return to the matchday squad after spending the last four months on the sidelines with a leg fracture that required surgery.

However, Saturday’s opponents have no such injury concerns after Blades boss Chris Wilder confirmed he has a fully-fit and available squad for the Wembley clash. Wales international striker Kieffer Moore appears to have proven his fitness by appearing in both legs of his side’s play-off semi-final meeting with Bristol City and he could be partnered by either Tyrese Campbell orformer Sunderland transfer target Tom Cannon. Chile international forward Ben Brereton-Diaz, Femi Seriki and former Everton midfielder Tom Davies will also be in contention for the game and that means Wilder is facing some big decisions before finalising his plans for Wembley.

“Physically we’ve got everybody available, which is fantastic news,” said Wilder in his pre-match press conference.

“They’re all knocking on the door, all putting their hand up to play. Tactically we’ve got to find a way to get the job done, execute the game-plan. Technically we’ve got a really good group of players. I’ve got a real good group of players that can produce big moments and keep clean sheets and play on the big stage. The mentality has been really consistent. I’m enjoying watching the players, I’m liking where they’re at at the moment. There’s no guarantees of course, but I don’t think we could have prepared any better.”

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