Sbragia prays for safe returns

Sunderland boss Ricky Sbragia is hoping his international stars will be returned to him in one piece. A posse of Black Cats players have headed off with their respective countries this week, with 2010 World Cup qualifiers back on the agenda.That means first-teamers such as Marton Fulop, Craig Gordon, George McCartney, Paul McShane, Tal Ben-Haim, Kenwyne Jones, Carlos Edwards and David Healy are all running the injury gauntlet.Most of those mentioned will be in action twice over the course of the next week, doubling their risk of picking up a knock.Those fortunate enough to come through their international endeavours unscathed will then face a tough Premier League test against West Ham upon their return to the Stadium of Light.ProblemThe likes of Edwards and Jones, who are away with Trindiad & Tobago, will not arrive back on Wearside until 24 hours before the Hammers clash, and Sbragia admits the situation he faces is far from ideal."It's a problem - it's a problem for everybody," he said."We have got a couple of players coming back late on the Friday before West Ham, so we have to sit back and see how it goes and pray they don't get injuries."We can do a bit on the Thursday afternoon, but there are a couple missing - we don't see them until Friday - so it is a problem."We have to see how they do and make a decision on whether we think the journey might have been too much for them and pick a team we think can get something at West Ham."

Source: SKY_Sports