Michael Beale has revealed that one Sunderland star has suffered another injury setback after a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
Sunderland already have the likes of Corry Evans, Dennis Cirkin and Niall Huggins enduring long-term injuries, but one player who was scheduled to return to action in the near future was Elliot Embleton.
Embleton hasn’t made an appearance for the Black Cats since tearing his ankle ligaments in December 2022.
The midfielder had made scored twice and provided two assists in 23 games prior to his injury, before going onto spend the next eight months on the sidelines.
Embleton did make the bench against Coventry in August, before he was sent out on loan to Derby County.
However, the 24-year-old only managed 52 minutes of action in his first game for the Rams before tearing his thigh muscle in training, resulting in a swift return to Wearside.
After spending the best part of 14 months out of action, Embleton was expected to return to the pitch to play in the U21s clash against Leicester City last week. However, the match was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
Embleton was forced to wait for his return to football and was set to play in that rescheduled fixture today, however Michael Beale has now confirmed that won’t be happening.
Speaking in today’s pre-match press conference, Beale said: “He rolled his ankle a bit yesterday so is going to miss a couple of days.
“The plan was for him to play this weekend with the second team but that might get pushed back. It’s just one of these things, the game is harsh sometimes. You are just getting ready for your first game back and then it gets called off, then the very next session you roll your ankle.”
What does the future hold for Elliot Embleton?
Elliot Embleton has endured nothing but bad luck since he was forced off against Hull City over a year ago.
The midfielder is only expected to be out for a matter of days, so we will surely still see him in action for the senior team in the next month or so. However, whether he can force his way into the team is another question.
Sunderland’s midfield options from the bench against Plymouth were Chris Rigg, Adil Aouchiche and Jobe Bellingham – three players I would still hope would be ahead of Embo in the pecking order.
The Black Cats academy product has a lot of work to do to make his way into Beale’s plans, while it wouldn’t surprise me if we saw him leave Wearside in the summer.