Unlikely to make it into the play-offs and without a manager, Sunderland’s bad luck seems to be continuing in this awful second half of their Championship campaign. With the most recent injury news, interim manager Mike Dodds is now faced with resolving a defensive problem.
Sunderland injury news
Amid a run of six straight defeats, Sunderland could at least do with some luck on the injury front. But that hasn’t been the case, with the Black Cats injury list only adding to the woes of Dodds.
| Sunderland’s injury/suspension list | Return date |
|---|---|
| Jack Clarke | Mid April |
| Patrick Roberts | Late March |
| Bradley Dack | Late March |
| Niall Huggins | Out for the season |
| Dennis Cirkin | Late March |
| Corry Evans | Late March |
| Luke O’Nien (suspension) | Cardiff City game |
| Jenson Seelt | Unknown |
Finding defensive cover for the Queens Park Rangers game and the upcoming weeks will be Dodds’ top priority due to his nine absences. Leo Hjelde is the only center-back the Black Cats have available for this weekend’s matchup, so the manager will either need to rely on inexperience or stretch the imagination.
It’s a problem that Dodds may see a repeat of too, following an injury update. As confirmed by the defender on Instagram, Jenson Seelt is set to be out for a “long period of time” after suffering an injury last time out against Southampton.
Sunderland fans at the Stadium of Light appear doomed to watch on as their campaign finishes with a whimper rather than the playoff push that they were on route for under Mowbray, with only nine games remaining and their team nine points outside of the Championship’s top six.
Defensive options Dodds could turn to
The situation is exacerbated by the fact that Hjelde, who often plays left defense, would suddenly have to partner with another inexperienced player at the center of Sunderland’s defense. Dodds may also start Timothee Pembele, Trai Hume, and 18-year-old Tom Lavery in what is undoubtedly a terrible situation for a team trying to turn around their dismal performance.
We expected he would come on and roll into midfield, like we do with Trai Hume regularly, but in reality, he was going to come on and play. He can play holding midfield. Because he is so skilled with the ball at his feet, Jenson is able to achieve that.”
With their injury woes, Sunderland doesn’t look likely to break out anytime soon as they bide their time for the awful season to come to a conclusion and the permanent appointment of a new manager. The Black Cats will be hoping to be ready to go come summer transfer window opening and resume their journey that Mowbray started them on.
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