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Régis Le Bris drops big Luke O'Nien selection hint ahead of Sunderland's Premier League opener Sunderland stepped up their preparations for the new season with a 2-0 win over RC Lens Régis Le Bris believes Luke O'Nien is ready to pick up where he left off at the end of last season after an excellent performance against RC Lens on Saturday. Omar Alderete was missing from the squad as he recovers from a knee issue, and though he could be in the squad for the opening game of the season against Ipswich Town he is considered unlikely to go straight into the starting XI. Having finished last season so well and been a consistent presence throughout the pre-season campaign, O'Nien looks set to be the key beneficiary. Sunderland have been monitoring the market this summer and could yet sign another centre back for the long season ahead, but Le Bris says O'Nien's form allows him to be careful with Alderete. "Absolutely," Le Bris said. "Luke now has one year in the Premier League, when we first started last season we didn't know [how he would fare]. Now we know he's ready to be competitive in that league. He's an excellent club captain and he's very good on the pitch, so it's very positive for us ahead of the season." Le Bris also confirmed that while Nordi Mukiele should make the squad at Portman Road, he too is unlikely to start as he recovers from a knock. That would leave Thomas Meunier in pole position to start, having impressed in his 45-minute cameo in the 2-0 win at Stade Bollaert-Delelis. The Echo has launched a new WhatsApp SAFC Channel to bring the latest news, analysis and team & injury updates direct to your phone. Simply click this link to join our SAFC WhatsApp channel. “With Nordi it's not too serious, it's a shame because I think his pre season was really good,” Le Bris said. “So just minor, but we need to take care of him. With Omar, it was an injury during the last game, just before the last game - so it's just about stiffness, It's not major, but it's important to build his condition, so probably both of them should be on the bench for Ipswich, I think.” “Romaine Mundle is injured as well, he's got a kick on his ankle so that one is minor,” Le Bris added. “Simon might be a bit longer, so we are still monitoring his ankle and we need to wait.” Your next Sunderland read: Thomas Meunier - How Sunderland convinced me to sign in five minutes and the dream I'm about to realise