Moyes: We've missed Kirchhoff presence

Cape Town - Sunderland manager David Moyes has admitted that his team have missed the presence of midfielder Jan Kirchhoff.

The German was a key member of the squad during the latter part of last season as they managed to avoid the drop, but has missed out on most of the current campaign due to injury.

The 26-year-old is now back in training after recovering from a hamstring and then a knee cartilage injury, and Moyes is looking forward to having him back.

“You’ve got to remember that Jan has missed a lot of football either through this injury or other injuries he’s had," said Moyes, according to Chronicle Live.

“This season we’ve really not seen a lot of Kirch.

“I think his stature in the middle of the park is important for us as well. He would give us a different look in midfield.”

He added: “We hope that if we can get Jan Kirchhoff and Jack Rodwell back, they’ll join Darron Gibson, Didier Ndong, and Seb Larsson. We’ll actually have quite a strong group of central midfielders which would be good."

Sunderland who are in the relegation zone face the daunting task of welcoming Manchester City to the Stadium of Light in an English Premiership clash on Sunday.

Kick off is at 18:00.