MICK McCarthy will not be wrapping Kevin Kyle in cotton wool despite failing to get to the bottom of the Sunderland striker's lingering hip problem.

Kyle missed most of Sunderland's pre-season programme after injuring his hip prior to the club's tour of the United States and, while he was a second-half substitute as the Black Cats lost 2-0 at Coventry on Saturday, he complained of new stiffness after yesterday's training session.

He was immediately sent for a second scan - the first showed no significant damage last week - and is a major doubt ahead of this evening's home game with Crewe.

A prolonged absence would be a major headache to McCarthy, as Sunderland struggled to create a single goalscoring chance before Kyle's introduction at Highfield Road.

But, while the Scotland international is already looking pivotal to his side's promotion hopes, McCarthy insists that playing him might be the only way of solving his injury problem.

"The way we're looking at it is that we'll either find out there is something wrong with him or he'll be OK," said McCarthy, who needed treatment himself yesterday after a clash of heads with George McCartney in a training game. "That sounds a bit callous, but that's the way it is sometimes.

"We've seen nothing on the original scan, but we have sent him for another one.

"He was desperate to be involved on Saturday. He'd been training all week and there's no soft tissue or muscular problem that we can see.

"So it wasn't a gamble to have him on the bench and it won't be a gamble against Crewe provided the scan comes back all clear."

Kyle finished last season as Sunderland's joint top scorer, but his influence extended beyond the 16 goals he bagged last term.

His physical presence helped to create gaps for the like of Marcus Stewart to exploit, and the Black Cats looked a far less threatening proposition in his absence on Saturday.

Stewart and new signing Stephen Elliott struggled to impose themselves on the Coventry backline, and Sunderland midfielder Carl Robinson has admitted that Kyle is all but impossible to replace.

"There aren't many about that are similar to Kevin," said Robinson, who is expected to retain his place in this evening's starting line-up alongside fellow midfielder Jeff Whitley. "So it's important that we keep him fit and he can start banging in the goals for us.

"Kevin is excellent at what he does. He's a big target man and everyone seems to be wanting big target men these days.

"He's young and athletic, and he wins just about every ball in the air. He always gives us an option because, if we are struggling, we can always play that longer ball into him.

"We like to try to pass the ball and we've worked on that all pre-season because Kevin hasn't been fit.

"But, as a midfielder, it's great having Kevin in the team because, if you are going long or crosses are coming in, you know he's going to drop the ball down to you if he can't have a shot at goal himself."

Kyle is not the only senior figure to be doubtful this evening, as both skipper Gary Breen and goalkeeper Mart Poom face late fitness tests after picking up knocks on Saturday.

Breen strained his hamstring in the latter stages of the 2-0 defeat, while Poom is complaining of a sore back after pulling off two superb saves at the start of the second half.

Thomas Myhre could get an unexpected recall if Poom is ruled out and, while the Norwegian international was on the verge of joining Crystal Palace earlier this year, McCarthy insists he remains a key part of his plans.

"It's been a financial issue all along," said the Black Cats boss. "It's all about the wage bill, but Thomas has been first class.

"He's trained and played at the end of last season, and I said to him 'If you're here, you'll be involved'.

"He hasn't been bombed out - he's been a part of it all the time.

"It's similar to the situation with Phil (Babb) and Joachim (Bjorklund) last season. He's one of us while he's here."

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