Sunderland vs Fulham: Pritchard injury news

Sunderland midfielder Alex Pritchard can be unlikely to play from the beginning towards Fulham, Tony Mowbray has confirmed.

The Lowdown: Repeated accidents

Pritchard was initially dominated out with a calf harm in mid-December, and he returned to the match-day squad for the 4-1 win towards Wigan Athletic on the finish of the month, with Mowbray bringing him on within the second half.

That call backfired, nevertheless, with the midfielder having to be withdrawn minutes later, and he was not included within the squad for the following three Championship matches, earlier than returning off the bench towards Millwall final outing.

The Newest: Replace from Mowbray

The playmaker made a right away influence on his return, weighing in with an assist within the 1-1 draw, however the Sunderland boss has indicated that tonight’s recreation can be too quickly for him to start out, saying:

“I am unsure Pritch is able to be thrown in and play as a false 9 or No.10,”

“We’ve got to have a look at the gamers we have got. Whether or not we play Amad a bit larger up the pitch…we’ll see. I do not wish to sit right here and inform Fulham what our crew goes to be. We’ll have a crew that hopefully may be very aggressive and the followers who come to look at will see a Sunderland crew preventing for each ball.”

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The Verdict: Warning wanted

Given what occurred final time the 29-year-old was rushed again, it’s sensible for Mowbray to be extra cautious this time round, particularly contemplating how very important a participant he has been for Sunderland this season.

Hailed as ‘dynamite’ by journalist Josh Bunting, the Englishman is ranked by Sofascore because the Black Cats’ joint-second finest performing participant within the Championship, averaging a match score of 7.03, after choosing up two targets and 4 assists within the second tier.

Moreover, whereas development within the FA Cup is all the time the goal, it is not going to be Sunderland’s essential focus this season, with promotion nonetheless an actual chance, at the moment two factors off the highest six, and Pritchard ought to be rested till Saturday’s house recreation towards Studying.