MICHAEL Beale admits the two major injury setbacks to Niall Huggins and Dennis Cirkin could force Sunderland into a transfer rethink this month - but he also believes he has the options in his squad to be flexible with his defence.

Cirkin had hamstring surgery this week and faces at least three months out of action, while Huggins - who has also gone under the knife - will be sidelined for at least a year with a serious knee injury.

That leaves Sunderland looking slightly short at full-back, with Beale admitting the Black Cats have a decision to make before the window closes.

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"Timmy (Pembele) is one who we're very excited about but he obviously needs to pick up a bit on his fitness because he had a long time out," said Beale, assessing the options at his disposal.

"I think when everyone is available we've got fantastic options but obviously losing the two is going to make us think.

"It's a long month and I think we've got another three games before the end of the window so if we were to pick up another injury then for sure [we'd look to the market], but at the same time with young Jenson [Seelt] and Nectar [Triantis], we've got the option to go to a back three as well.

"We've got Aji who is playing there at the moment and Trai Hume, and we've got Timmy Pembele as well."

Sunderland will also be without a couple of players in attack in the coming weeks, with Bradley Dack out with a hamstring injury and Patrick Roberts not expected back until next month because of a calf problem.