Key duo definitely ruled out as Sunderland visit Sheffield Wednesday
Sunderland will definitely be without two key players when they take on Sheffield Wednesday on Friday evening.
The Owls and the Black Cats will face off at 8pm tomorrow as they both look to bounce back from defeats last week, with Danny Röhl’s side being beaten by Burnley and Sunderland losing out to Hull City
Regis Le Bris saw two of his starters hobble off in their game at the Stadium of Light and the suggestion afterwards was that they could both be bad injuries, and now it has been confirmed that the pair will be nowhere near the matchday squad at Hillsborough - or for the next six to eight weeks.
“It’s probably a little bit less for Enzo, 4-6 weeks, and then 6-8 for Ballard,” he said in his pre-match press conference on Thursday. “Everyone else is ok.”
It’s a big blow for the visitors given the importance of the two players, especially with how Le Fee has performed since joining the club on loan from Roma. The Black Cats have lost two games in a row, falling six points behind third-placed Burnley, and automatic promotion is now looking like a long shot.
Elsewhere their manager did confirm that winger, Tommy Watson, is back in full training after a lengthy injury lay-off, however he won’t be ready in time to play any part in the game at S6 on Friday night.
Wednesday have injury issues of their own with the likes of Dom Iorfa, Akin Famewo and Anthony Musaba still on the comeback trail and Di’Shon Bernard out for the season, but there are also some unknown absentees for the game against Sunderland after Danny Röhl hinted at some ‘question marks’ for tomorrow’s game.