---
title: "Sunderland: James Hunter thrilled by Niall Huggins return"
canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/huggins-injury-team-news-reading-u21-championship/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Adam Clancy"
section: "Championship News"
published: "2022-10-15T10:16:04Z"
modified: "2022-10-15T10:16:04Z"
---

# Sunderland: James Hunter thrilled by Niall Huggins return

**[Sunderland](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/sunderland-afc-news/) reporter for The Chronicle James Hunter has been left thrilled by some injury news involving Niall Huggins.**

### The Lowdown: Rarely seen

Having signed a [four-year deal](https://safc.com/news/team-news/2021/august/huggins-signs-four-year-deal) at the Stadium of Light from Leeds United back in the 2021 summer transfer window, with manager at the time Lee Johnson [praising](https://safc.com/news/team-news/2021/august/huggins-signs-four-year-deal) his versatility, physicality and speed, the youngster looked a really exciting capture.

However, his career on Wearside has been plagued by injuries so far, and he has only managed to make [four](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/niall-huggins/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/559801/plus/0?saison=&verein=289&liga=&wettbewerb=&pos=&trainer_id=) senior appearances since joining, and none since September of last year.

### The Latest: U21s comeback

Taking to Twitter, [Hunter](https://twitter.com/JHunterChron/status/1581012602892693504) gave his reaction after Huggins played 45 minutes for the Black Cats’ U21s in a 3-1 loss to Reading on Friday night, calling it a ‘big positive’:

*“Despite the result, big positive takeaway from the U21 game was Huggins’ comeback. Just played the first 45mins but looked pretty sharp – you wouldn’t have known he’d been out for 13 months. Needs more gametime, but this was a good first step.”*

He of course won’t be involved in the first-team this week against Wigan, but getting minutes under his belt is the first major step in making that leap back into the senior squad.

### The Verdict: Promising signs

The fact that Huggins looked ‘sharp’ upon his return is a positive sign that he can recover from his long-term injury quickly and hopefully get back to playing regular football without any more problems.

There was a lot of [promise](https://safc.com/news/team-news/2021/august/huggins-signs-four-year-deal) when he first joined, and there could still be a place for him in Tony Mowbray’s squad.

A player capable of playing at [both](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/niall-huggins/profil/spieler/559801) right-back and left-back, Mowbray only has [two](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/afc-sunderland/startseite/verein/289) other natural full-backs in his senior squad, and so the 21-year-old could yet play a key role in the rest of the season.

\[freshpress-quiz id=”410591″\]