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Russell Anderson had waited for years to test himself in the Premier League before moving to Sunderland in the summer, but he still does not feel as though his career has really begun at the Stadium of Light.

Anderson has only made two appearances for the Black Cats since a £1m move from Aberdeen in June after failing to force his way into manager Roy Keane’s starting XI at the start of the season. Since then, the Scotland international has been forced to sit on the sidelines during an irritatingly long rehabilitation from a back injury.

But the centre-back is on the verge of a return to full training over the Christmas period and hopes to finally get the chance to make an impact in English football following months of frustration on Wearside.

“I’ve been injured for quite a while now but, hopefully, I should be back training in the next week or so,” said Anderson, who was Keane’s first signing following the club’s promotion to the Premier League.

“Provided everything goes according to plan when I get back on the training pitch, I should be back in contention for games quite quickly after that. It feels as though I’ll be making a new start to life here at Sunderland, to be honest. It’s not been the best of starts to my career down here, so this is a bit like turning over a blank page and starting again.

“I haven’t had too many opportunities to show what I can do, but all I can do now is make the most of any chances that come my way when I’m back and available. I need to do everything I can to get myself back into contention for the games and that’s what I’ll be doing once I get the all-clear to start joining in with everything again.”

Anderson’s last appearance was a disaster as the Black Cats crashed out of the Carling Cup at League One side Luton Town, with the Scot at the centre of a defence which conceded three goals against lower league opposition.

Nevertheless, although the defender’s start to life in the North-East has not gone according to plan, he came to the club with a big reputation after establishing himself as arguably the most consistent defender in the Scottish Premier League. It is a reputation he is determined to show is justified as he looks to persuade Keane that he can solve the team’s defensive problems.

He added: “It’s been frustrating. I don’t suppose there’s ever a good time to be injured but it was particularly disappointing to be ruled out so early in my Sunderland career. It’s been hard to sit there at the games and watch the rest of the lads playing, just as it has been hard to watch them all head out for training while I’ve been stuck doing fitness work. But hopefully that’s coming to an end now. I’m nearly there and there’s light at the end of the tunnel. I should be back training next week and I’d like to think that I would be available for selection not too long after that. I might need to get a couple of reserve games under my belt before I’m back in contention for the first team, but hopefully it won’t be too much of a drawn-out process from now on in.”

Meanwhile, striker Kenwyne Jones believes the Black Cats should allow the sense of injustice following the 1-1 draw against Aston Villa to simmer inside them ahead of their trip to fellow strugglers Reading at the weekend.

Feelings are still running high in the Sunderland camp following referee Steve Bennett’s decision to rule out Danny Collins’ last-minute header against Villa. Neither Sunderland’s players nor Keane will face censure for their heated reaction to the official’s controversial call, but Jones feels they should not allow their anger to subside.

He said: “It hurts when something like that happens. But you can’t think the luck is going to be against you. We’re bitterly disappointed about Saturday and maybe we should stay angry when we go to Reading and look to win there.”