Sunderland dealt Danny Batth blow

Sunderland look to have suffered an enormous harm blow within the build-up to Christmas, with Danny Batth prone to be sidelined with a calf harm.

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The skilled centre-back was pressured off in final weekend’s sport in opposition to Hull Metropolis and Tony Mowbray has offered a worrying replace on his harm scenario.

He said: “It’s very, very uncommon that you’ve got your complete squad match and obtainable. Danny Batth felt his calf. Whether or not it’s a tear, I’m undecided, however he felt a pointy ache in his calf as he pushed off and he needed to come off.”

Luckily for the Black Cats, Daniel Ballard was capable of make his long-awaited return from harm in the identical sport, changing Batth after his harm, whereas Bailey Wright will even quickly be again in competition after getting back from the World Cup, the place he helped Australia attain the spherical of 16 earlier than defeat in opposition to eventual winners Argentina.

Gutting information for Mowbray

This will probably be a irritating and gutting scenario for Mowbray, as Batth has been an important a part of Sunderland’s robust begin to life again within the Championship, as solely he and Anthony Patterson have started every single game within the second tier.

Solely seven gamers in Mowbray’s aspect have been ranked larger than the previous Wolves man in response to WhoScored this marketing campaign, which emphasises simply how necessary he’s on the again for the north east outfit.

The 32-year-old leads the way for clearances and aerial duels gained per sport by defenders in Sunderland’s squad, dwelling as much as his description as “colossal” by journalist Josh Bunting.

Certainly, the titanic defender has made a whopping 4.1 clearances per sport – a team-high – and has additionally gained 3.9 aerials a match, the second-best in your complete squad.

The Christmas interval is all the time a busy one and with Sunderland set to face promotion hopefuls Blackburn Rovers on Boxing Day, Mowbray will definitely be gutted that he will probably be with out his most-reliable centre-back.

Hopefully, for the Black Cats, Batth’s calf harm will probably be a minor one and he could make his return to motion as quickly as attainable, as he’ll undoubtedly be very important to their hopes of being within the playoff image over the ultimate few months of the season.