Sunderland have been dealt another blow in their pursuit of the playoffs after head coach Michael Beale confirmed that a key player could be sidelined for a matter of weeks.
The Black Cats went to the John Smith’s Stadium on Wednesday night to face a relegation-threatened Huddersfield Town, knowing that a win would lift them inside the top six, at least until the weekend. However, Beale’s side spoiled the chance to do so following a 1-0 defeat in Yorkshire.
Matty Pearson was the man who bagged the only goal of the game, scoring in the 37th minute to gift the Terriers a huge three points in the race for survival in England’s second tier. The win was Huddersfield’s second in three league outings, with both coming under the tutelage of interim head coach Jon Worthington.
Sunderland had been on a solid run of form in the Championship, picking up two wins and a draw in three matches before Wednesday’s gruelling defeat. Now, the Wearside club make the trip to the West Midlands to take on Birmingham City, who are currently managed by ex-Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray.
Unfortunately, Beale’s men will have to do so without first-team star Patrick Roberts. The attacker came on from the bench just after the hour mark to replace Abdoullah Ba but limped off in the game’s dying embers.
Speaking after the game, the head coach revealed that Roberts pulled his hamstring once more, a reoccurrence of the same injury which sidelined him for weeks earlier in the campaign [quotes via Sunderland Nation]:
“We’ve obviously had a disaster because we’ve lost Paddy for the last ten minutes and that meant we had to play with ten men,” Beale said.
“It just made it into an even worse night. It’s his hamstring, and I’m told it looks as if it’s the same as he did earlier in the season. He missed four or five weeks earlier in the season, and he feels it’s the same,” he continued.
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“It’s a really big shame because I thought he was bright when he came on. He came inside and the defender did fantastic to block it, and then he went outside on another one. We looked much stronger when he came on, so he’ll be a big loss.”
Writer’s View
If Sunderland supporters were feeling confident about paying their old boss a visit at the weekend, they certainly aren’t now, having suffered yet another defeat away from home in a winnable game, while losing one of the most technically gifted players in the squad.
The Black Cats will be wounded after that defeat and from the news surrounding Roberts’ potential long-term absence. However, Beale must rally the troops to continue their fight for promotion since there is still plenty of time remaining in the campaign.
