Michael Beale has issued a fresh update on Patrick Roberts after he suffered an injury in Sunderland’s 1-1 draw against Rotherham United.
Despite putting pen to paper on a new contract in November, Patrick Roberts has endured a difficult campaign at Sunderland.
The 26-year-old has been a regular on the right flank but has failed to reach the heights that his performance levels promised last term.
In 23 Championship appearances, he is yet to score and has only provided one assist, which is far below the levels he’s expected to achieve.
Hailed as ‘magic’ by former manager Tony Mowbray, Roberts was integral to Sunderland’s run to the play-offs last term as he plundered five goals and supplied seven assists, including the crucial injury-time equaliser in the 1-1 draw against Watford in April.
While that was the last time he scored in red and white, the £7k-a-week wizard is capable of producing the telling quality in the final third and he’s shown glimpses of that in the early stages of Michael Beale’s reign.
On Friday night, Beale issued what looked like a promising update on his injury and now the 43-year-old has provided a further update on his fitness.
Patrick Roberts is still an injury doubt for Newcastle clash
With an all-important FA Cup clash against Newcastle to come next weekend, Beale needs all of his key players at his disposal, and Roberts is one he’s unsure will be available for the match.
Speaking to the Sunderland Echo after his side’s win against Preston North End, he said: “We’ll have to see,
“We’re a bit unaware on him at the moment, obviously in the festive period it’s not as easy to get the scans and the results, so we’re still waiting for the results. We don’t know if he’ll be available for Newcastle, I’ll give an update the next time I speak to you.”
Who will step up in Roberts place?
Patrick Roberts was absent from their 2-0 win over Preston on New Years Day as Alex Pritchard scored and impressed from the right flank.
In the 1-1 draw against Rotherham, it was Abdoullah Ba who replaced the Englishman inside quarter of an hour, but the Frenchman has looked ‘especially awful’ in recent weeks.
Indeed, Beale decided to use Pritchard as a playmaker from the right, who had license to drift infield and create opportunities centrally.
The 30-year-old, whose contract expires in June, was outstanding in that victory and is now undroppable ahead of the Newcastle fixture.
If Roberts is deemed fit in time, however, Beale will have a selection headache on his hands and will need to decide whether he wants the pace of Roberts or the technical guile of Pritchard.