Bruce plays down Bardsley fears

Sunderland manager Steve Bruce has allayed injury fears surrounding full-back Phil Bardsley after he had to be substituted in Wednesday night's friendly against Kilmarnock.

Bardsley had to be come off during the 2-1 win with an adductor muscle problem but Bruce believes he should be fully recovered in time for Saturday's trip to Burnley.

"I don't think there's any real problem there," Bruce told safc.com. "Phil should be back in training in the next couple of days."

Fellow defenders Michael Turner and Titus Bramble have "knocks" according to Bruce but neither are serious.

"They're both a bit sore at the moment and we'll see how they are in the run-up to the weekend," he said.