Huge double Sunderland blow as hamstring injuries confirmed ahead of Sheffield Wednesday clash
Sheffield Wednesday welcome Sunderland to Hillsborough on Friday evening.
Sunderland could be without two key players for next week’s trip to Hillsborough with Enzo Le Fee and Dan Ballard both forced off during Saturday’s 1-0 defeat against Hull City.
The Black Cats fell to their first home defeat of the season on Saturday, with goalkeeper Anthony Patterson fumbling a corner into his own net on 18 minutes. Regis Le Bris’ side dominated possession but were left frustrated by a defensively resolute Hull outfit, who consigned the promotion hopefuls to a second blow of the week following Monday’s crushing 2-1 loss at Leeds United.
Sunderland’s misery was compounded at half-time when star January signing Enzo Le Fee was forced off, with their day going from bad to worse as Dan Ballard suffered a similar fare just minutes after the break. The pair have a week to get themselves fit but if further assessment flags anything serious, there will be doubts over their availability at Hillsborough.
“Enzo’s problem is probably with his hamstrings,” Le Bris told the Sunderland Echo following his side’s weekend defeat. “We will have to see whether it is serious or not tomorrow. Dan Ballard has a similar issue. It is obviously disappointing, but I think the dynamic of the season is like that. You have players in, and players out. Romaine [Mundle] was in today, and that is good news, so we have to face up to these different challenges.
“We have a small group. That can be a positive, because everyone is really involved, but at the same time, when we have injuries, we know that we can have a bit of a lack of depth in certain positions. That is just the characteristic of the squad this year. There are positives and negatives, we just have to try to manage things properly.”
Le Fee has been a revelation since joining Sunderland on loan from AS Roma in January, with his move widely regarded as a massive coup for the Championship side. A return of one goal and one assist in eight games doesn’t fully justify the 25-year-old’s influence on his new squad, an influence that will be missed if he is injured.
But Sunderland kept pace with their automatic promotion rivals before Le Fee and their issues on Saturday went deeper than the second-half absence of their talisman. Le Bris can boast one of the Championship’s most exciting squads but it is also the youngest, and lacking depth when compared to Leeds United, Sheffield United and Burnley.
Recent performances have fuelled suggestions the Sunderland squad is wavering going into the all-important promotion run-in. And Le Bris has suggested the next few games - starting with that trip to Hillsborough on Friday night - could see some rotation.
“For some players there is probably now the opportunity to help the team and to be connected with the shared project,” the Black Cats boss added. “It's a long journey with many games to play and I hope we can find some solutions. We'll see if some of these players are ready, because I think they will get some opportunities in the coming weeks.
“ith young players, they still need time to develop and the main question here is the level of the team. To be competitive in the top six is different to the middle of the table, where you can make mistakes and learn from them. But at this level, mistakes are different because the consequences are significant. We will have to manage this situation.”