REGIS Le Bris says Jobe Bellingham will benefit from his spell on the sidelines as the midfielder prepares to sit out of the next three Sunderland games after his sending off at QPR.

The Championship leaders head for Preston on Wednesday night but will be without Bellingham, with Le Bris confirming the Black Cats opted against appealing the teenage star's Loftus Road dismissal.

Le Bris said the red card for what was a bad tackle on QPR's Zan Celar was "fair and clear" and sat down with Bellingham early this week to assess the incident. He believes the 19-year-old will learn from the setback, which will benefit the Black Cats in the long run.

"After the foul Jobe waited for the decision but it was clear for him, it should be three games," said Le Bris, with Bellingham also set to miss this weekend's visit of Coventry and the trip to Millwall after the international break.

"It happens during a career. We can learn from many situations and this is a new situation for him.

"When we analysed the sequence of actions before that foul, we found different elements we can manage differently. It's a new learning and I'm sure he will be stronger for it."

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With Bellingham missing, Le Bris wasn't interested in protecting his plans for Preston, confirming Alan Browne will start. He's set to play alongside Dan Neil and the returning Chris Rigg in midfield.

It's a first return to Preston for North End's former captain since his Deepdale exit in the summer.

"He will play and he deserves to play," said Le Bris of Browne.

"He's a great professional with good experience and leadership, quiet but strong leadership, it's very interesting.

"Our midfielders have played very well, Browney has needed to wait but he knows the league is so strong he was sure he'll have opportunities. It's now. I'm very confident for him."

Le Bris is backing Sunderland to cope in the absence of Bellingham.

He said: "We have a squad with 16 or 17 players available to play in the core. Then we have the young players.

"They need foundations to express themselves. This core exists. I'm confident with the options we have, we have to create something new but with the options we have it's not a problem."