Tony Mowbray has confirmed Sunderland defender Jenson Seelt will miss the start of the season through an injury picked up in pre-season.
Seelt, 20, join Sunderland at the end of June from PSV.
He didn’t play too regularly for the Dutch side’s senior team, but did often feature for their U21 squad at the back. He made 33 league appearances last season scoring four times and assisting another one.
He’s quite a highly rated central defender and like many others has joined Sunderland with a big ceiling to reach.
However, during Sunderland’s pre-season trip to the United States Seelt picked up an ankle injury which at the time wasn’t thought to be anything major.
But, despite not being a serious injury it has still ruled the defender out of selection for the first few weeks of the campaign. Speaking to The Northern Echo on Seelt’s condition, Mowbray said:
“Jenson has that problem with his ankle, it looks as if he’s going to be a few weeks (away).
“It’ll be good moving forward when we’ve got plenty of choice, but the structure and the defence at the weekend looked pretty strong (against Real Mallorca).”
Starting where they left off
Mowbray suffered an unprecedented amount of injuries last season. He was often left playing without a natural striker and with a makeshift backline.
The Black Cats have clearly tried to address the lack of depth in their squad, but there’s still work to be done between now and the end of the window. However, the centre back position is one that actually looks fine as things stand.
Sunderland have also added Nectarios Triantis to that area and as long as they manage to keep everyone fit, depth at the back shouldn’t be a problem this time around.
It isn’t ideal that the 20-year-old is missing the first few weeks of the season, but it will give him more time to settle down and understand more of what Mowbray wants from him during his time in the north east.
He’s an exciting prospect, but fans will have to wait to see him in competitive action.
Despite the blow to Seelt, Sunderland will be hoping they can get off to a winning start against Ipswich Town this Sunday.
