Sunderland could be without one of their integral first-team players for tonight’s game vs Leicester City in the Championship, according to a fresh update.
What’s the latest injury news at Sunderland?
This evening, Tony Mowbray’s side make the trip to the King Power Stadium to take on the division’s current league leaders, with kick-off scheduled for 8pm, but the boss is set to be without several of his players who are currently out on the sidelines injured. The Black Cats have Aji Alese, Dennis Cirkin, Eliezer Mayenda, Timothee Pembele, Jay Matete and Corry Evans in the treatment room all with their own respective problems, and if the following update is to be believed, they might not be the only ones set for a spell out.
During the international break, Northern Ireland’s Daniel Ballard sustained a knock and ended up missing his nation’s final game of the fortnight which caused concern among supporters, but the centre-back alleviated fears when he returned to domestic action.
During Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Stoke City, the 24-year-old was named in the starting line-up and played the entirety of the second-tier fixture, though the manager throwing him straight back in at the deep end could have had a negative reaction because he has now seemingly suffered a fitness setback.
Daniel Ballard injury update
Speaking during his pre-match press conference on Monday, Mowbray shared an injury update on Daniel Ballard and confirmed that his defender is a doubt for tonight’s encounter vs Leicester. As quoted by The Sunderland Echo, he said:
“We have four or five not training today that we hope are going to play tomorrow. Lots of knocks and lots of niggles. Stuff like tight muscles and dead legs. We will do a few fitness tests and we will see who is fit tomorrow.
“Dan Ballard is one of the players who hasn’t trained and we have to see if he passes a fitness test tomorrow.”
How good is Daniel Ballard?
According to journalist Josh Bunting, Ballard is an “immense” player for Sunderland and he’s certainly made an impressive start to this season, therefore, it would be a huge blow for Mowbray if he didn’t have the defender at his disposal against Enzo Maresca’s side.
Standing at 6 foot 1, the northeast colossus is currently averaging 4.3 clearances and 2.8 aerial wins per game in the Championship (WhoScored – Ballard statistics), highlighting the real rock he’s been at the heart of the backline at the Stadium of Light.
Daniel Ballard’s Style Of Play |
|---|
Indirect set-piece threat |
Likes to play short passes |
Clears the ball out of defence often |
Commits fouls often (Data via WhoScored) |
Furthermore, Ballard is also capable of making a positive impact at the opposite end of the pitch having posted 17 final third contributions, 13 goals and four assists, in 159 appearances since the start of his career (Transfermarkt – Ballard statistics), so the head coach will really be hoping to have his talisman available for the journey to the Midlands.
