Martin O'Neill to check on Rose after racism ordeal

LONDON (AFP) - Sunderland manager Martin O'Neill plans to give Danny Rose as much time as possible to recover from his racism ordeal before deciding whether the England Under-21 defender is in the right frame of mind to play in Sunday's derby against Newcastle.

Rose was forced to endure sickening racist taunts from Serbian supporters during England Under-21s' 1-0 win in a European Championship play-off tie in Krusevac on Tuesday and has admitted to being shocked by the experience.

The 22-year-old, who is on loan at Sunderland from Tottenham, was eventually sent off after the final whistle for kicking the ball away in frustration after 90 minutes of constant abuse.

He returned to Sunderland on Thursday and O'Neill will sit down for a chat with the left-back to judge his mental state before making a final call on his participation in a potentially stormy clash with local rivals Newcastle.