Sunderland manager Mick McCarthy is set to play Republic of Ireland midfielder Colin Healy as an emergency full-back in their game against Stoke tonight.
The 23-year-old made his name at Celtic as a central midfielder, but McCarthy exploited his versatility during his time as Ireland manager and will do so again tonight as Darren Williams is struggling to shake off an ankle injury.
"Colin is a very good player and is comfortable playing in a number of positions," McCarthy said. "He's been excellent before for me in the right-back position.
"He can play in the middle of midfield, on the right side of midfield and at full-back. He's played there before for Ireland. If you asked him, he'd probably say he prefers it in the middle, but playing at right-back is a damn sight better than sitting on his backside on the bench."
Sunderland have put their disappointing start to the campaign behind them with four successive victories and McCarthy is confident of extending that run tonight.