diff --git a/src/mem/cache/tags/sector_blk.cc b/src/mem/cache/tags/sector_blk.cc
index 7e4468dc35..13c90b68ca 100644
--- a/src/mem/cache/tags/sector_blk.cc
+++ b/src/mem/cache/tags/sector_blk.cc
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ SectorSubBlk::print() const
 }
 
 SectorBlk::SectorBlk()
-    : ReplaceableEntry(), _tag(MaxAddr), _validCounter(0), _secureBit(false)
+    : ReplaceableEntry(), _validCounter(0), _tag(MaxAddr), _secureBit(false)
 {
 }
 
@@ -127,6 +127,12 @@ SectorBlk::isValid() const
     return _validCounter > 0;
 }
 
+uint8_t
+SectorBlk::getNumValid() const
+{
+    return _validCounter;
+}
+
 bool
 SectorBlk::isSecure() const
 {
diff --git a/src/mem/cache/tags/sector_blk.hh b/src/mem/cache/tags/sector_blk.hh
index a30fb817c7..cfe67729cd 100644
--- a/src/mem/cache/tags/sector_blk.hh
+++ b/src/mem/cache/tags/sector_blk.hh
@@ -144,18 +144,19 @@ class SectorSubBlk : public CacheBlk
  */
 class SectorBlk : public ReplaceableEntry
 {
-  protected:
-    /**
-     * Sector tag value. A sector's tag is the tag of all its sub-blocks.
-     */
-    Addr _tag;
-
+  private:
     /**
      * Counter of the number of valid sub-blocks. The sector is valid if any
      * of its sub-blocks is valid.
      */
     uint8_t _validCounter;
 
+  protected:
+    /**
+     * Sector tag value. A sector's tag is the tag of all its sub-blocks.
+     */
+    Addr _tag;
+
     /**
      * Whether sector blk is in secure-space or not.
      */
@@ -177,6 +178,13 @@ class SectorBlk : public ReplaceableEntry
      */
     bool isValid() const;
 
+    /**
+     * Get the number of sub-blocks that have been validated.
+     *
+     * @return The number of valid sub-blocks.
+     */
+    uint8_t getNumValid() const;
+
     /**
      * Checks that a sector block is secure. A single secure block suffices
      * to imply that the whole sector is secure, as the insertion proccess