Sunderland have recently confirmed some devastating news.
Sunderland were up in the top six just a few weeks ago.
A 3-1 win against Plymouth Argyle saw the Black Cats sitting in 6th place of the Championship table, and a point ahead of Hull City who were in 7th.
But just three games later, Sunderland have dropped down to 10th. Hull City have moved into 6th and have opened up an eight-point gap to the Black Cats.
Sunderland sacked Michael Beale last week and interim boss Mike Dodds suffered a frustrating 2-1 defeat vs Swansea City in his opening game.
And to make matters worse, Jack Clarke is sidelined for the next six weeks.
Sunderland confirm Jack Clarke injury
Sunderland released a club statement yesterday, confirming the news of Clarke’s injury.
The 23-year-old, described as ‘quality’ by former S was left out of the Swansea City game after rumours of a potential injury were confirmed.
But nobody knew the severity of his injury.
Now, Sunderland have revealed that Clarke sustained ankle ligament damage in the defeat vs Birmingham City earlier in the month, with the winger set to be sidelined for ‘up to six weeks’.
Sunderland add that Clarke, who’s scored 15 and assisted four more in the Championship this season, is scheduled to return to training in April.
Clarke has potentially played his last game for Sunderland
Sunderland have a number of players attracting Premier League interest ahead of the summer; Dan Neil, Pierre Ekwah, and Anthony Patterson are among them.
But Clarke is the one with the most heat in the rumour mill and with this injury potentially sidelining him until the summer, we may well have seen the last of Clarke in red and white.
Spending the next six weeks out could rule Clarke out until the middle of April, with the 2023/24 Championship campaign ending on May 4th with a home game vs Sheffield Wednesday.
Of course, if the Black Cats earn a spot in the play-offs then their season will go on a little longer, and Clarke could return for what would be some crucial play-off matches.
But a top six finish now seems unlikely and so for Clarke, it’ll really be a race against the clock to feature for Sunderland once more.
And if we don’t see Clarke playing for the Wearside outfit again then fans will certainly have plenty of memories; he’s blossomed into a top young player and in a few years, or even less, we could see Clarke strutting his stuff in the Premier League and beyond.