Roy Keane is considering letting David Connolly leave Sunderland Football Club on loan.

The Republic of Ireland international is currently recovering from hip surgery which has sidelined him since May, and Keane may let him leave on a temporary basis to gain match fitness elsewhere.

"Dave had a hip operation just before the end of last season and he is making a good recovery," he told The Sunday Sun. "It's a slow process, but he is recovering and he is back doing a bit of light jogging.

"I don't like putting dates on things but I would hope that Dave would be back out on the training pitch in the next week or two. He is possibly one of the people that I would look to send out on loan.

"He needs to play because he has missed an awful lot of games.

"It's something we'll look at when he is available."