TONY Mowbray says a new deal for captain Corry Evans was "the right thing to do".

Evans will remain at Sunderland until at least the summer of 2024 after this week signing a new one-year extension on Wearside, with the Black Cats having the option of extending that deal by a further 12 months.

The 32-year-old is currently sidelined with an anterior cruciate ligament and won't play again this season.

But with his contract having been due to expire at the end of the season, Mowbray didn't want Evans to have to deal with the uncertainty of not knowing what his future held while he goes through the rehab process.

"I think it's the right thing to do," said Mowbray.

"He has a serious injury. Having known Corry for five years at Blackburn Rovers, I know the human being and what he brings to the club. I didn't see him here for a year and a half or so, but he led the team and was instrumental in promotion last season.

"I know how important he is and the respect he's got from the rest of the players. For the rest of the player and for Corry, the right thing to do, in the moment he's in, was to give him peace of mind and make sure he knows the club is there to support him through this period."

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Despite being out of action, Evans still has a hugely important role in the dressing room, as Mowbray explained.

He said: "A football dressing room is a living organism. It lives and breathes. People do things that are right and wrong and new people who come in who don't know the standards that are set, and what you have to do and what's acceptable and what the boundaries are, somebody needs to administer that.

"As a head coach, I don't live in the dressing room. I don't sit in there with my watch keeping time. That old football saying, you're only as good as your senior pros. Corry Evans is the guy that runs that dressing room and makes sure people adhere to the standards that the club and players demand.

"Himself, Danny Batth, these types of players are so important. We talked a lot about how young the team is and the benefits and the negatives. Its really important you have people who lead and set the standards and Corry fits into all of that."