MX23RW : Monday, April 29 14:51:48| >> :600:265692:265692:

Lee Johnson prepared to work around possible Bailey Wright absence

Lee Johnson prepared to work around possible Bailey Wright absence
© Reuters
The Black Cats face Lincoln is the semi-finals this week.

Bailey Wright is having to deal with expectancy of two fronts as he prepares to play his part in Sunderland's bid for Sky Bet League One play-off glory.

The defender is due to become a father on the day of the final, leaving the Black Cats making plans for their two-legged semi-final showdown with Lincoln knowing the 28-year-old could be called away at any time.

Wright's situation is one of a series of selection dilemmas facing head coach Lee Johnson as he attempts to end the club's three-year exile in the third tier of English football.

Asked about the process of finalising his team ahead of Wednesday's first leg trip the the LNER Stadium, Johnson said with a smile: "If only you knew! I could probably make a movie out of the last 12 or 13 games. It's almost like a game of Boggle – eventually it settles.

"You're always conscious not to show your hand too early as a football manager because you can get little knocks and niggles, or poor form or attitude errors all the way building up into the week.

"You have to remember they are all human beings with partners and families. Bailey Wright's wife is due to give birth on the day of the play-off final.

"Obviously, leading up to it with the Lincoln games, there's a potential that the baby may well come early.

"The due date is bang on point for the play-off final day, so there's a lot of logistics that we're having to go through to make sure that we still get Bailey Wright, but also that Bailey Wright still gets to see his baby if we get to that point."

Wright has made 38 appearances so far this season, seven of them in the final seven games of the campaign following his return from a calf injury.

ID:447925: cacheID:447925:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:2676:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
General view of Lincoln City's Sincil Bank from 2017
Read Next:
Lincoln's clash with MK Dons called off due to coronavirus cases
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
CPortsmouth462813578413797
3Bolton WanderersBolton462512986513587
4Peterborough UnitedPeterborough462591289612884
5Oxford UnitedOxford Utd4622111379562377
6Barnsley4621131282641876
7Lincoln CityLincoln4620141265402574
8Blackpool4621101565481773
9Stevenage4619141357461171
10Wycombe WanderersWycombe461714156055565
11Leyton Orient461811175355-265
12Wigan AthleticWigan462010166356762
13Exeter CityExeter461710194661-1561
14Northampton TownNorthampton46179205766-960
15Bristol Rovers46169215268-1657
16Charlton AthleticCharlton461120156465-153
17Reading461611196870-253
18Cambridge UnitedCambridge461212223961-2248
19Shrewsbury TownShrewsbury46139243567-3248
20Burton Albion461210243967-2846
RCheltenham TownCheltenham46128264165-2444
RFleetwood TownFleetwood461013234972-2343
RPort Vale461011254174-3341
RCarlisle UnitedCarlisle4679304181-4030


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!