Sunderland manager Tony Mowbray is expecting a number of players to be unavailable for the trip to face Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium on Thursday night.
The Black Cats secured an impressive 2-1 win over third-placed Blackburn Rovers at the Stadium of Light on Boxing Day, recovering from behind after Ross Stewart’s own goal in the 18th minute.
But the victory came at a cost, with full-backs Lyndon Gooch and Dennis Cirkin both being forced off, while Aji Alese was not included in the squad due to injury.
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Mowbray’s defensive options are becoming increasingly stretched with Danny Batth also currently unavailable, but he was boosted by the return of Bailey Wright from the bench against Rovers.
Ahead of the trip to Lancashire to face a Latics side struggling in the relegation zone, Mowbray conceded that Gooch, Cirkin, Alese and Batth are all likely to be sidelined.
“Aji has got a problem with his ankle and his foot,” Mowbray told the Sunderland Echo.
“He’s had injections and new orthotics put in to support his foot, it’s not an injury as such where he’s out for six weeks. It’s a problem that the specialists are working on to try and make it easier for him. I would hope it would only be a week or so, but I don’t think he’ll make the trip to the North West with us.
“Danny Batth isn’t far away but again, probably won’t make those games.
“Gooch has got a big icepack on his hamstring, so I would suggest that doesn’t look good for these next two games at this stage. Dennis took a kick on the outside of his knee and was struggling to plant his foot and push off – we will have to see and likely have a scan on that.”
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the verdict
These latest injuries are a blow for Sunderland.
Mowbray will be incredibly frustrated as he has just got key players such as Dan Ballard and Stewart back from long-term absences, but with Elliot Embleton’s serious injury and now a number of defenders suffering knocks, the squad remains depleted.
It could not have come at a worse time during the busy festive period with such a congested fixture schedule.
The Black Cats have performed admirably despite all their injury issues this campaign and it is an outstanding achievement from Mowbray to have his side on the fringes of the top six in their first season back at the level.
However, the good news is that Mowbray does not seem too concerned about the severity of these injuries and the 59-year-old will hopeful of finally having a near fully-fit squad to choose from in the not-too-distant future.
