But the injury is still a “minor” problem and Bellingham sat out the game at Carrow Road as a precaution.
Regis Le Bris also confirmed that Leo Hjelde is fine despite his second half withdrawal at Norwich, which again was just a case of Sunderland’s head coach exercising caution on the back of the defender’s recent spell on the sidelines.
Le Bris made four changes for the game at Norwich, which finished 0-0, which included resting Wilson Isidor and Patrick Roberts, who both dropped to the bench.
Le Bris said: “We’ll need freshness for the end of the season so if it’s possible to manage the squad with one game, one game and a half a week for them, it will be better.”
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Le Bris added: “Jobe is ok. He has a minor ankle injury, nothing serious.
“Although he wants to play every game, today was an opportunity for him to refresh. We’re able to manage the squad to keep everyone in their best shape, and that was the decision today.
“Leo was OK, he has been injured for a while so it was better to play only 70 minutes. He’s OK.”
Sunderland secured a top six finish with five games still to play thanks to their draw at Norwich.
And while Le Bris is delighted to have a play-off place guaranteed, he says it’s crucial his players don’t take their foot off the gas.
“It’s a great achievement,” Le Bris said.
“It has been a long journey so far with many games to play, and we’ve played well even if it wasn’t always brilliant with the ball. The team spirit was always unbelievable. Like the first half today, even when we were not good with the ball we can feel the energy of the team.
“It’s crucial that we keep going now. It was exactly my speech after the international break. Before the Millwall game I told the players that we have to build momentum through April – it’s not just the last game or two games before the end. We have to start now. I think we’ve done this.
“We’re in a really good place and so we also have the opportunity to manage the squad, to give young players minutes and to give some freshness to others.”
