RYAN Noble is hoping Wednesday's reserves hat-trick against Newcastle will thrust him into Sunderland's first-team squad for tomorrow's Premier League home game with Fulham.

Noble, who made three senior substitute appearances in the second half of last season, completed an 11-minute treble either side of the interval as the Black Cats' second string beat their regional rivals at the Stadium of Light.

The 19-year-old Academy product has only just returned from a recurrence of a long-standing back problem that sidelined him for the best part of three months.

However, with Connor Wickham set to be sidelined for up to six weeks and doubts over Ji Dong-won's sharpness following international duty with South Korea, Sunderland-born Noble is hoping to be involved when Fulham visit the Stadium of Light tomorrow.

"All I can do is keep working hard in training and showing the manager what I can do in (reserve) games," said the youngster. "I need to make sure he's always thinking about me in the back of his mind.

"Any chance you get in the first team, either through injuries or suspension, you've got to take it and do your best in front of the manager. Hopefully, if I get another chance, I can take it this time."

While Noble was able to use Wednesday's second-string derby to showcase his strengths, Titus Bramble's hopes of making an eagerly-awaited return to action were thwarted when he picked up a knee injury prior to kick-off.

The defender returned from a six-week suspension imposed following his arrest outside a Yarm nightclub last week, and while he is available for first-team duties despite a scheduled court appearance to answer two charges of sexual assault on January 5, he will not feature in the squad to face Fulham.

"Titus had a little niggle," explained Sunderland reserves boss Keith Bertschin. "There was a bit of pain on his knee and it was wiser to leave him out.

"We don't know how bad it is, but he hasn't played much recently so we decided not to play him because if it gets worse, he could be out for much longer.

"Hopefully, we've caught it quick and he'll be okay within days rather than weeks. I'm sure when he's fit and able, he'll need a game with us."

Sunderland will face former Newcastle centre-half Aaron Hughes and defender Philippe Senderos tomorrow after the Fulham duo were both passed fit following thigh problems. However, Stephen Kelly is unavailable after suffering a groin injury while on international duty with the Republic of Ireland.