Sunderland have picked up two fresh injury concerns ahead of their meeting with Norwich City this weekend.
Following their defeat to Leicester City, Tony Mowbray confirmed that both Adil Aouchiche and Bradley Dack missed out through injury.
Sunderland were narrowly beaten by the Foxes in the Championship clash, with an early header from James Justin proving to be the difference between two teams.
The visitors had plenty of chances to equalise and arguably should have had a penalty for a foul on Dan Neil in the first half, but it wasn’t to be.
Mowbray would have usually turned to Aouchiche and Dack in their bid for a goal, but the pair were absent from the match-day squad.
Aouchiche had been looking to force through a place in the starting line-up after a number of impressive cameo appearances since his arrival, while the latter had only just returned from a thigh injury that had kept him since the 5-0 win over Southampton.
Speaking after the loss, via Sunderland Echo, Mowbray said: “Adil is injured, he has a groin problem. Bradley was also out injured, it’s his hamstring.
“They didn’t travel with us. We didn’t think Dan Ballard was going to play yesterday because he didn’t train, but he passed a fitness test on the afternoon of the game.”
The midfielders now face missing out on this weekend’s match against the Canaries, which will be a must-win game after three defeats on the trot.
Will we miss Aouchiche and Dack?
Adil Aouchiche is definitely a bigger loss, with the Frenchman really impressing me since he joined from Lorient.
The 21-year-old looked on the verge of being handed a chance to impress from the start, especially with the number of midweek fixtures coming up around the winter period.
Hopefully he isn’t sidelined for too long, as I would definitely tip him to have an impact towards the end of the year.
Meanwhile, Bradley Dack is continuing to live up to his injury-prone status. I’m not convinced the 29-year-old has been fit at all this season, though I think that is partly down to Tony Mowbray throwing him straight in when he hadn’t even had a proper pre-season.
I feel like we haven’t really been able to see the proper Dack, especially not in his natural position anyway. But Mowbray loves him and will continue to force him into the team when he is not ready or not really wanted.