Sunderland's Paolo Di Canio praises Wes Brown

Sunderland manager Paolo Di Canio has praised the perseverance of defender Wes Brown, who has struggled with injury in recent seasons.

The 33-year-old has not played a competitive match for the Black Cats since January 2012, but the former Manchester United defender made a scoring return in their 3-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur in Hong Kong on Wednesday.

Di Canio told the Sunderland Echo: "The club had a conservation with him, but with his strong character, he said 'I feel a footballer, I want to stay here and prove it'.

"Because I'm an intelligent manager, I didn't have any preclusion to anyone doing that. He was the perfect professional to have in a squad and what a player.

"He hasn't stopped for one minute in a training session. My pre-season is very tough, but he hasn't had any problems."

It had previously been thought that Brown would announce his retirement this summer.