Kristjaan Speakman may well be ruing his decision to bring one player to Sunderland in the summer.
Sunderland returned to winning ways on Tuesday night with a routine 2-0 win against Derby County at the Stadium of Light.
The win puts Regis Le Bris’ side back to the top of the Championship table with 18 points taken from a possible 24 so far this season.
Jobe Bellingham scored an impressive goal which caught the eye of older brother Jude Bellingham, whilst Wilson Isidor scored his second in as many games for the Black Cats.
Elsewhere, Sunderland fans hailed the performance of Romaine Mundle once again, as he continues to shine in Jack Clarke’s absence.
There were certainly a lot of positives to take from the win against the Rams, who’ve been in steady form so far this season, but who Sunderland made light work of.
But there was also a negative to take from the game against Derby, albeit nothing to do with the overall performance.
Regis Le Bris confirms Ian Poveda injury blow at Sunderland
Ian Poveda came off the bench for just his third Championship appearance of the season on Tuesday night.
The former Leeds United man has been in and out of the matchday squad owing to injury, and he lasted just 12 minutes against Derby County before being brought back off the pitch.
Poveda joined Sunderland on a free transfer in the summer and Le Bris has had to be patient with the Colombian.
And Le Bris may have to show more patience with Poveda, revealing yet another injury for the 24-year-old after Derby County.
“I think we will be injured for a couple of weeks. I don’t know exactly how long,” Le Bris told the press.
- READ MORE: Regis Le Bris could become first Sunderland manager since Roy Keane to achieve difficult feat
Kristjaan Speakman may be ruing decision to sign Ian Poveda
There was a lot of interest in Poveda over the summer, and rightly so; on his day, he’s shown that he can be a real game-changer at Championship level.
But he arrived with the injury-prone tag. For Sunderland or indeed any team that signed Poveda, it would’ve been a gamble, and so far the Black Cats, their gamble on Poveda isn’t paying off.
It’s worrying that Kristjaan Speakman and the club handed Poveda a three-year deal. And it’s also a cause for concern that, when fit, Poveda blocks the pathway for exciting youngster Tom Watson.
So far, the capture of Poveda isn’t paying dividends, and it could prove to be a testing spell for both the club and the player.