The fragile perfection of Aji Alese

Yesterday at 01:00 AM

Despite his injury record, Alese is an excellent player and one who may have a huge part to play during the coming weeks.

Aji Alese is perhaps one of Sunderland's most frustrated players. The defender has often endured a tough time on Wearside, seemingly breaking down with injury each time he gets into a good run of games.

Alese was a huge factor in our early success this season, forging a brilliant partnership with Luke O'Nien which saw us concede just one goal in the opening four matches.

An injury following the win down at Portsmouth means we haven't seen him since, but with a return from injury heavily alluded to in recent weeks by Régis Le Bris, it means a key player will be available for a tough week of games.

Signed as a left back, it soon became apparent that Alese would be better utilised as a centre back, and he quietly slotted in alongside O'Nien when Dan Ballard missed the start of the campaign.

He looks assured in the middle of the defence, and with he and Ballard now back in contention, suddenly we're back to being stacked in that position.

Managing Alese's game time when fit has always been a tricky task for the coaching staff.

He's one of several players who, if they were without their issues, wouldn't have been a viable option for Sunderland, but what adds to the frustration when Alese gets injured is realising how much of a lovely bloke he seems to be.

This is reflected off the pitch, and Alese has clearly put his time to good use, as he was recently announced as the official PFA Player Ambassador of the Foundation of Light.

Alese has regularly visited the Foundation and has made the day of many young Sunderland fans.

He spoke of his pride after the announcement; he comes across as a positive guy who wants to be a role model for younger people, and I'd proudly say that he's another footballer this club is fortunate to have.

Of course, the lack of game time for Alese is irritating for him, the club and the fans. However, it's likely that Le Bris will have him back for the coming weeks and there's a run of three games in six days where having Alese as an option could be crucial.

We head to Millwall with several players unavailable through injury and suspension.

A reshuffle will be needed at the back, with Trai Hume suspended, and the signs seem to suggest that O'Nien could shuffle across, leaving a vacancy alongside Chris Mepham. However, if Alese is fully fit, I daresay there won't be many people opposed to him coming straight back into the back line.

It's no secret that Sunderland have a recurring injury issue.

Several players struggle to keep fit for an extended period of time, and as good as Alese is, he's one of them. That said, he's a top player on his day and a seemingly great person to have around the group.

As with other players, such as summer signings Abdul Salis Samed, Milan Aleksić, and Ahmed Abdullahi, their time will come; after all, it's a long season and with over thirty games to go, we'll need the squad depth.

The coming week will be a good indication of what the players and Le Bris are made of, and it's pretty exciting to wonder what the plan may be for a tricky run of matches.