HE had to wait for his chance, but Keiren Westwood has already made a favourable impression on Sunderland manager Steve Bruce, which could spell bad news for Simon Mignolet.

Westwood has made a number of telling saves in his first three Premier League appearances in a Sunderland shirt, vindicating Bruce's decision to snap him up as a free agent in the summer.

A pre-season injury prevented him from starting the season in goal and Mignolet soon established himself as the first choice between the posts during an indifferent start to the campaign.

However, a fractured eye socket and a broken nose sustained by Mignolet opened the door for Westwood, who has successfully manoeuvred himself in to a strong position in Bruce's thinking.

Mignolet is not expected to be out of action for too much longer, but Bruce has been impressed by his replacement and, provided he keeps up his good form, Westwood could stay in goal for the longer term.

"We've got two badly injured keepers and there's no sign of Craig Gordon coming back in, even if Simon's back in the building at least," said Bruce. "Fair play to Keiren, he's stuck at it and trained really well.

"When he's got his chance he handled his Premier League debut very well and proved he's a very good keeper so thankfully all that hard work in the summer getting him has paid off.

"Like with (Seb) Larsson, we've done our homework and getting a free transfer like him is very good. It's his chance now, if he keeps performing like he is, it's quite straightforward. By the looks of him he's going to take some shifting because he's looking very capable."

After emerging from the bench to deny Darren Bent in the 2-2 draw with Aston Villa on October 29, Westwood also made solid saves in the defeat at Manchetser United and the draw with Fulham on Saturday.

"That's why we brought him in," said Bruce. "Fair play to him. There have been times when he probably thought he deserved his chance. But he stuck at it, kept training and working hard at it.

"That's his second full Premier League game. We can only be delighted. He looked very assured and has produced another great performance."

Westwood has impressed those in front of him too, with Michael Turner recently applauding the performances of the Republic of Ireland international.

And with the defensive displays looking quite strong for the Black Cats, Bruce has been encouraged to learn Turner is unlikely to be missing when they face Wigan at the Stadium of Light this weekend.

The powerful defender broke his nose against Fulham, needing three stitches, raising concerns he would face a spell on the sidelines.

However, Bruce said: "He's got a badly broken nose, stitches on the end of the pitch - adamant that he wasn't coming off. To stop the bleeding we had to stitch him and pack his nose, which is not very nice.

"We're starting to see Michael again, the return of Michael, because he's had a horrible knee injury and for me he's just starting. But he'll play next week, without question."

Sunderland, meanwhile, are understood to have knocked back the advances of a number of Football League clubs keen on taking teenage striker Ryan Noble on loan.

Noble has returned to form and fitness for the reserves after a long-standing back problem and he was introduced as a second half substitute against Fulham.

With Connor Wickham out for a number of weeks and Fraizer Campbell not due back until Christmas, Noble has been told he will be part of bruce's plans for the short-tern at least until his options further up the field improve.