Campbell played 28 minutes of the reserves' 1-1 draw with West Ham on Tuesday, his first taste of action since he damaged knee ligaments in August last year. Neither he nor his manager will take any chances with his recovery, although Bruce is hopeful that he could be ready to play early next month. However, Bruce knows from personal experience how difficult things can be psychologically after a lengthy lay-off. He told the Sunderland Echo: "You have always got to deal with the mental side of it. "I remember when I broke my leg when I was younger and ended up trying to tackle with my other foot. You are always a little bit hesitant. "You need a whack on it and all of a sudden, you are confident again and you know it's okay. "It's very difficult for any player who has been out for such a long time." Campbell last played a senior game for Sunderland in the 1-0 win over Manchester City on August 29 and by coincidence, the fixture which he could return in is at Eastlands on April 3. Bruce said: "When you look at him, you wouldn't think he has been out for seven months. "I have always had it in my mind that we have got two games in March. We have got two weeks after Liverpool until Man City, so I'm looking at that game rather than Liverpool. "Hopefully we can get enough football into him that he can be ready to make an impact." Campbell is delighted simply to have returned to the fold, but is putting no pressure on himself. He said: "There's no rush to come back. It's not about getting back for a particular game - I'll take my time and get back into the first team when I'm fit and ready to produce my best stuff. "I want to play as much football as I can while being sensible and building my fitness up." Meanwhile, chairman Niall Quinn has revealed the addition of former foreign secretary and South Shields MP David Miliband to the club's board is already paying dividends. He said: "When I come to step down as chairman one day, I might well come to look back on David Miliband as the best signing I ever made at the club. "I have had three meetings in London over the last few weeks with people I would never have got a chance of meeting previously, and that's directly because of him. "One was with a business conglomerate representing the interests of huge Asian companies, and these are the sort of interests that are now starting to look at Sunderland. "The future is potentially very, very bright if these companies suddenly start to really look at us and want to invest." Quinn also revealed Miliband wanted to do the job for nothing, but owner Ellis Short insisted on paying him, reportedly in the region of £50,000 a year. He said: "That was Ellis Short's idea. David wanted to do it for nothing, but Ellis felt we could lean on him more if we were paying him, and I have got to say he was probably right."
