Sunderland defender John Mensah has made a quicker-than-expected return from injury after being out of action for two weeks because of a groin problem.
The Ghana captain suffered the injury during their 3-2 defeat against West Brom in the Premier League two weeks ago.
Mensah was expected to miss the rest of the season because of the injury.
But after undergoing treatment with the Sunderland medical team, the strong centre-back has returned to full fitness.
“I am happy to return before time and I thank God for his mercies upon me and my family, I have started training and I feel very sound and okay,†Mensah said on his official website www.johntherock5.com.
“I am hoping to fit into the team quickly.â€
This means he will be available for Sunderland when they take on Fulham this weekend as they seek to finish among the top-10 in the league.
Mensah says he wants Sunderland to defeat Fulham as they want to finish well in the league.
“Saturday’s match against (John) Panstil’s Fulham is an important game to me and I am praying to God that He will grant us victory with a clean sheet on Saturday,†Mensah added.
Sunderland are currently 12th in the 20-team league.