JOE Gelhardt played through the pain barrier in the final weeks of the season to help Sunderland in their bid to reach the Championship play-offs, it has been revealed.

Gelhardt's commitment to the cause, despite only being at Sunderland on loan, was hugely appreciated by coaches and bosses, with sporting director Kristjaan Speakman saying "it really underpins the type of character he is".

Gelhardt joined on loan from Leeds United in the final days of the January transfer window, but the Black Cats were forced to change their initial plans for the forward. In an ideal world, Tony Mowbray would have played Gelhardt off a central striker, but Ross Stewart's season ending injury and Sunderland's failure to land a replacement in the winter window left the Leeds loanee as the only option up-front.

Despite having to play in a slightly unfamiliar role, Gelhardt was wholly committed during his time on Wearside, scoring three goals and insisting he wanted to feature in the final weeks of the season despite battling an injury.

"Joffy was probably a stand out in the last few weeks of the season," said Speakman.

"He played with an injury. In his type of scenario a lot of (loan) players don't play. To go through what he went through behind the scenes to get himself out on the pitch is a massive mark of respect."

Speakman admitted there was frustration at Sunderland at the fact the injury situation meant they weren't able to get the very best out of Gelhardt.

He said: "We're probably a bit disappointed for Joffy. We'd like to have seen him play in a slightly different team shape with some different personnel and maybe we'd have seen more out of him, but he was part of that flexible forward line that helped contribute goals.

"I think we were fourth top scorers in the league. We were really pleased with him both in and out of possession."

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Gelhardt returned to Leeds after Sunderland's play-off defeat to Luton, and after his parent club suffered relegation to the Championship yesterday, he now looks set to stay at Elland Road as the Whites plan for life back in the second tier.

Meanwhile, Speakman also explained why Sunderland opted against making Edouard Michut's loan move permanent.

The midfielder impressed on loan from PSG but it was confirmed last week that the 20-year-old would be heading back to his parent club. Fulham have been linked with a summer move.

Speakman said: "That was a loan with an option for us. I think the natural thing that everyone expects is the boy has done really well and we'll trigger the option. But for us it had to be the right conditions, both from a contractual perspective and his perspective.

"We had lots of conversations. Edu is a top young man and I think he'll have a really successful career but when we got down to the detail there just wasn't as much alignment as we felt comfortable with and that's why we decided not to pursue."