Sunderland midfielder Sebastian Larsson says they'll be boosted by the return of their Africa Cup of Nations absentees.

Larsson says it will be a major boost for his Sunderland team-mates to have Didier Ndong and Lamine Kone back in the fold as they seek to shock Tottenham Hotspur tomorrow night.

Wahbi Khazri also saw his country exit the African Cup of Nations on Saturday night, but it is not yet clear whether he will be available for selection.

He told the Sunderland Echo: “We're happy to have him [Ndong] back. I'm sure he doesn't want to be back yet, but, as a team, we're happy to have him back and Lamine (Kone) as well – they're two big players for us so we're happy to get a few more players through the door, more options for the manager and more competition for places.

“It's going to take a big shift from everyone.

“We do look at the statistics on physical output and there's definitely correlation between the games where we've had a high physical output and the games where we've done better. We need that.

“We know we're not going to play all the other teams off the park and hard work is what the fans want to see here so that's what we've got to do against Tottenham, who are a top team, and every team we come up against for the rest of the season."