SUNDERLAND have been hit by another major injury blow ahead of tomorrow night’s home game with Huddersfield Town – but Tony Mowbray is keeping his cards close to his chest and refusing to reveal the identity of the player who is set to miss out.
Dennis Cirkin will definitely be unavailable as the Black Cats look to keep their play-off push on track with a win over Neil Warnock’s relegation-threatened Terriers side as he is suspended following his dismissal against Birmingham City.
Luke O’Nien is set to replace him at left-back – provided nothing changes with his wife, who is due to give birth at any moment - but Mowbray has conceded Cirkin will not be the only high-profile omission at the Stadium of Light.
Sunderland’s medical staff have reported another issue in the wake of the Birmingham win, although Mowbray does not want to reveal any details as he feels it might influence Warnock’s team selection on Wearside.
The Sunderland boss said: “The ones who are fit are fit, and the ones who are not fit are not fit. We’ve picked up another injury from the weekend though.
“I don’t really want to tell you who it is because Neil sometimes likes to get his men to mark certain men. You’ll see when the team sheet goes in.
“We’re one more down from where we were at the weekend, but I don’t think it’s a bad injury. Fingers crossed, it’ll just be this game, but we’ll have to wait and see.
“They’re all in good spirits. We’ve had back-to-back wins. I always think it’s difficult to win three games on the bounce in the Championship, but we have a great opportunity. We’ve got to challenge ourselves against the next opposition, and hopefully we can find a way to win.”
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