Emmanuel Adebayor and Vlad Chiriches have handed Tottenham Hotspur a fitness boost for Monday's Premier League match with Sunderland, as the London side looks to put last week's 4-0 thrashing by Liverpool behind them.
Top scorer Adebayor has missed the past two league matches with a hamstring problem, while Chiriches has been out since late January with a back injury.
The Romanian's return is timely given the way Tottenham's defence was brushed aside during the defeat at Anfield, a loss that was another blow to their already slim hopes of reaching fourth spot and a place in next season's Champions League.
They are sixth, four points behind fifth-placed Everton who have one match in hand, and eight behind fourth-placed Arsenal.
“It's been a difficult week,” Sherwood told a news conference on Friday.
“We're all upset after Liverpool. We have to put it right and the way to do that is by winning on Monday.”
Centre back Jan Vertonghen and striker Roberto Soldado have been ruled out of the match, along with long-term absentees Kyle Walker and Erik Lamela.
Sunderland are battling for Premier League survival and are currently in 19th place, four points off 17th-placed West Bromwich Albion with a game in hand.
“Sunderland have been unlucky, they haven't picked up results. We'll go out and play with freedom and try to entertain the fans,” Sherwood said.
“I hope Sunderland stay up for Gus's (Poyet) sake, but I don't want them to start winning on Monday. It's important we bounce back.” – Reuters