Sunderland suffer Dennis Cirkin injury blow

Sunderland supervisor Tony Mowbray should unleash summer season signing Aji Alese after Dennis Cirkin went off injured in opposition to Middlesbrough on Monday night time.

The younger defender, who joined from Tottenham Hotspur in August 2021, had started and completed 90 minutes in all of Sunderland’s Championship fixtures this season till he was compelled off on the Riverside on Monday night with a hamstring drawback.

Following the sport, Mowbray offered an replace on the 20-year-old however urged that the severity of his harm was unclear.

He said: “It’s the identical as Ross [Stewart] actually. I don’t know the way unhealthy it’s. It’s his hamstring fairly than his thigh, so that means a fatigue harm actually with the repetition of video games he’s performed.”

Since becoming a member of from Spurs, Cirkin has been a daily fixture in Sunderland’s aspect, making 47 appearances wherein he has contributed no targets and two assists.

Is shedding Cirkin a giant blow?

He has additionally proven his versatility, shifting from left-back to centre-back below Alex Neil, so to lose him in addition to long-term absentee Daniel Ballard will certainly fear Mowbray, particularly now that the switch window has closed.

Nevertheless, this might open the door for Alese to make his first league begin for the membership, having featured in simply six minutes of Championship motion since becoming a member of from West Ham earlier in the summertime.

Whereas he didn’t precisely set the world alight on his full debut within the League Cup in opposition to Sheffield Wednesday, incomes a poor 6.3 match score, he arrived on the Stadium of Mild with rave critiques, with former West Ham Below-23s boss Dmitri Halajko singing his praises earlier this 12 months.

He said: “He’s fast, good on the ball, he has a pleasant left foot, good vary of passing and defends properly in one-on-one conditions.

“He’s a dependable, mature younger man. However, most vital, he’s a quiet chief. His management abilities are at a excessive stage.”

Certainly, he was additionally described as a “seriously good player” in an episode of the We Are West Ham Podcast by Tom Edwards.

Cirkin, who reportedly earns £3.4k per week on the membership, has been massively spectacular in every of Sunderland’s final two wins, incomes a 7.44 score from WhoScored for the 3-0 win in opposition to Rotherham and a 7.42 score within the 1-0 win at Stoke, which exhibits how important he was in these victories and clear sheets.

Former supervisor Lee Johnson highlighted Cirkin’s potential throughout his time on the Stadium of Mild, saying:

“Take a look at a participant like Dennis Cirkin, I don’t even really feel he’s had 15 or 20 per cent tapped into his true potential. What we might do with him and what he might do with himself is scary.

“It’s thrilling occasions.”

Whereas it is going to be powerful to exchange Cirkin if he’s out of motion for some time, this might be Alese’s probability to indicate what he’s product of, so Mowbray ought to hand him a uncommon begin when Sunderland face Millwall this weekend.