Sunderland’s attacking midfielder Elliot Embleton is set for an extended spell on the sidelines after the hamstring injury he picked up in the Black Cats Carabao Cup victory over Sheffield United turned out to be worse than first feared.
The twenty-year-old was pushing for a regular starting berth after impressing on-loan at League Two Grimsby Town last season, scoring four goals in thirty appearances for the Mariners. However, after making only five outings for the Lads so far this season, his progress has hit the buffers due to the unfortunate injury, with the club putting no exact timescale on a possible return.
New boss Phil Parkinson revealed the news when he spoke to the local press, telling the Shields Gazette: ‘That’s going to be a long-term injury, unfortunately. It’s going to be months before we see Elliot again.’
‘My talks with the physio have been that it will be longer than that [two months].’
‘When I came in, he said it was a long-term injury.’
Sunderland play Leicester City Under-21’s tonight in the EFL Trophy at the Stadium of Light, and in better injury news, Parkinson is set to welcome back Laurens De Bock and Alim Ozturk to the side with both likely to feature against the young Foxes.
Our View
A massive blow for the young player who was hoping this season would be a breakthrough campaign.
Many Sunderland fans feel Embleton is a star number ten in the making and will be desperate to get him back in the first-team reckoning.
However, after this news, it looks like Parkinson will have to look elsewhere for an energetic, creative spark to feed his forward line,
With Aiden McGeady’s form remaining a considerable concern, rumours of moves in the January window are very soon likely to surface.
