Sunderland return to League One duties this weekend with a trip to Gillingham.
Lee Johnson takes his Sunderland side to Gillingham this weekend, as he bids to return to the top of the League One pile after dropping down into fourth during the international break.
The Black Cats now have two games in hand on league leaders Plymouth Argyle who sit just a point in front of Sunderland, with Wycombe Wanderers and Wigan Athletic wedged in between.
Providing an injury update ahead of the weekend, Sunderland Echo’s Phil Smith gave the full lowdown and the main story is that Luke O’Nien is ‘fine and should be fit for Saturday’.
Elsewhere, Aiden McGeady is ‘touch and go’ having battled a persistent knee injury this season whilst Nathan Broadhead is ‘getting closer’ having suffered a muscle injury in the 5-0 win over Cheltenham Town last month.
Corry Evans is ruled out with a calf injury which Smith says ‘doesn’t look too serious’ but summer signing Niall Huggins is set to miss the rest of this year with a back injury – Smith’s full injury update can be seen below:
Injury update:
– LO9 fine and should be fit for Sat.
– McGeady touch and go.
– Broadhead getting closer.
– Evans is a calf problem, but doesn't look too serious atm.
– Huggins is out for 3 months with his back. Big blow#SAFC— Phil Smith (@Phil__Smith) October 13, 2021
Johnson has been blessed with decent squad depth going into this season and so a handful of injuries shouldn’t hamper them too much.
But nevertheless, injuries to some important players in McGeady, Evans and Broadhead in particular could prove a problem going into the congested run of fixtures over winter, with the Black Cats having 14 league fixtures pencilled in between now and New Year, with cup fixtures on top of that.
A trip to Gillingham this weekend is the perfect chance for Sunderland to return to the top of the pile – Steve Evans’ side are struggling in 19th-place of the League One table having lost their last three in all competitions, and having won just one of their last eight league fixtures.
The game kicks off at 3pm on Saturday afternoon.