Sunderland winger Patrick Roberts has undergone a scan today to determine the extent of a hamstring injury he picked up against Huddersfield Town. Roberts was forced off in the closing stages of the midweek clash which meant the team had to play with 10 men.
It is a recurrence of the injury he suffered earlier in the season. It is a blow for the club and head coach Micheal Beale said: “It’s obviously a real sore one for us to take because we tried to manage his minutes. We were managing a calf (injury) and then he managed to get a hamstring injury.
“It is a miss but it’s a big chance for Romaine Mundle to step up now. Abdoullah Ba has played well in that position.”
Meanwhile, Callum Styles is pushing to be in contention for today’s trip to Birmingham City as he steps up his recovery from appendix surgery.
“It was Callum’s second full session, today, so we will have to see” Beale added. “By next week, he will be 100 per cent so will have to see whether he makes the bench and how much he can play.”
Sunderland travel to face former manager Tony Mowbray this weekend as they take on Birmingham City at St Andrews. However, former Black Cats playmaker Alex Pritchard is likely to miss the game after picking up a calf injury, although ex-Sunderland loanee Dion Sanderson could be fit after returning to training this week.
"Dion is back training now. He’s telling me he’s not far away. It gives us more choices,” said Blues manager Mowbray. “We made seven changes in midweek and it felt like too many changes, but it’s good because I have players I can trust who I want to put on the pitch.
“I don’t think it weakened the team from the game before. It’s good that if injuries come along and suspensions come along, you’ve got players that you feel you can put in the team and it shouldn’t make it any worse.”
