The injury sustained by Tommy Watson against Bristol City could leave one man in the frame for his first minutes.
Sunderland will have to make the gruelling trip to South Wales to face off against Swansea City with the knowledge that they can’t rely on 18-year-old prodigy Tommy Watson after he sustained an injury vs Bristol City.
The Sunderland winger is set to be out for two months after he hobbled out of action against the Robins in the game that ended as a stalemate, and as a result, Black Cats boss Regis Le Bris will be monitoring his options.
It has been suggested that he should bring in Eliezer Mayenda in place of Watson, who will be on the left flank with Patrick Roberts on the right, with Wilson Isidor being utilised through the middle, however the French boss could bring a surprise package into the squad as a result of the recent injury woes.
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Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris could utilise Ahmed Abdullahi amid injury concerns for Tommy Watson
The Black Cats’ attacking options are somewhat threadbare at this moment in time, and whilst it looks likely that Mayenda will be brought into the starting 11, Le bris could very well hand summer signing Ahmed Abdullahi his first minutes in red & white.
Le Bris has recently spoken about how he wants to bring the Nigerian 20-year-old into his side, and if he has reached a suitable level of fitness, the upcoming clash against Swansea City could see the youngster gain some valuable minutes.
Abdullahi has a brilliant goalscoring record at youth level, with 21 goals in 38 games in the Belgian third tier, and Le bris will be hoping that that can be translated into English football.
Ahmed Abdullahi deserves attacking spotlight amid poor Black Cats frontline form
There is no doubt that Sunderland have not been up to scratch in regards to attacking output in recent weeks, and as a result, there is no reason why Le Bris shouldn’t roll the dice with his options and think somewhat outside the box.
Going for Abdullahi would certainly be a bold call, especially with him notching just two senior appearances throughout his career up until this point, however there aren’t many better managers at Championship level that can rely on getting the very best out of youngsters like Le Bris is able to.
His goalscoring record at youth level should certainly be enough to suggest that he deserves some game time, and there is plenty of promise in his abilities, otherwise Sunderland wouldn’t have shelled out a seven-figure fee for the Nigerian.