David Moyes has pleaded with Sunderland fans to be patient when three of his star players return from injury fortheir final run-in of fixtures.
Jan Kirchhoff, Victor Anichebe and Lee Cattermole have all had spells out on the sidelines for the Black Cats in recent months which has often left Moyes with a depletedsquad.
Sunderland supporters will hope the trio return to the team, and to form quickly, as their side face the gruelling challenge of beating the drop.
But Moyes has issued awarning that they will need time to find their form again. Sunderland are currently sat at the foot of the table and are six points adrift from safety.
Jan Kirchhoff delighted to be back following #SAFC U23s appearance last night 
➡� https://t.co/Jv6Y83Qkuf pic.twitter.com/xSRYo9TWZI
Kirchhoff has been out since Decemberafter tearingcartilage in his knee, but has now returned to training.Anichebe (Knee) and Cattermole (Hip/Achilles) are not expected to be available for at least another three weeks.
Speaking to theSunderland Echo, Moyes said: "I'm hoping to get Victor back at the beginning of April “ we're looking at around another three weeks.
Could he back? I hope so, but I'm not quite convinced. There's a chance Lee Cattermole could be back in three weeks “ I'm not convinced but I'm hoping so. We'd be hoping then for Kirchhoff certainly.
Victor Anichebe and Lee Cattermole face April fitness race to rejoin Sunderland's survival campaign https://t.co/m1EJUfNXvU #SAFC
"The thing is people have been out injured, you can't expect them to come back and hit the ground running, they've been out so long. They've missed so much.
For them to make the difference is not an easy thing to do “ they've missed most of the season."
With regard toCattermole's injury, Moyes added: "That's the problem, we might not have the three games to give him to find his yard, so we might need to find that another way."