"I'd be very shocked" - Sky Sports pundit drops Sunderland AFC claim involving Tommy Watson | OneFootball

Don Goodman spoke exclusively to Football League World about Sunderland and their fresh injury blow to rising star Tommy Watson

Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman has lauded Sunderland for the display of resilience and bouncebackability displayed in Saturday's 3-2 victory at Swansea City, which was completed without Tommy Watson following a frustrating injury blow.

The Black Cats have just slowed down somewhat as of late following a blistering start to the 2024/25 campaign under Regis Le Bris, who has had to contend with the toiling and unforgiving nature of the division in more recent times amid a range of injury concerns.

Sunderland's squad wasn't deemed fit for purpose in respect to a Championship promotion race, and while they have shown themselves to be more than capable of competing throughout the duration of the season, Le Bris isn't blessed with strength in depth at his disposal and that's something which has caught up with the side.

The Frenchman recently confirmed a two-month injury absence for 18-year-old Watson, who scored his first senior goals against Stoke City earlier this month and had established himself as a regular starter in place of sidelined counterpart Romaine Mundle.

Meanwhile, the likes of Ian Poveda, Salis Abdul Samed, Alan Browne and Ahmed Abdullahi - all of whom were summer signings - have also spent large parts of the season on the sidelines.

Don Goodman's Sunderland praise for Swansea City victory amid Tommy Watson injury blow

In spite of the freshly-confirmed injury to Watson, Sunderland have shown initial signs of being able to weather the storm once again and pick up points while their best players are out injured.

It's not an ideal scenario for Le Bris, but he's more than capable of making do with his lot for the time being and deserves to be commended for guiding Sunderland to a 3-2 win over Swansea City on Saturday afternoon, where they overturned a two-goal deficit to take all three points from South Wales through goals from Daniel Ballard, Dan Neil and Jobe Bellingham.

Although Watson's absence is sure to be a real blow, Sunderland have been praised for remaining competitive and coming away with a big win at Swansea.

Goodman exclusively told Football League World, via CoinPoker: "It's always a blow at any level when you lose a player who is in form and having a positive influence on games. But that also happened a few weeks ago when they lost Romaine Mundle and introduced Tommy Watson.

"The fact they have won without him and scored three goals against Swansea, who boast an impressive defensive record at home, suggests it's a big blow but not an insurmountable one.

"It's only a few more weeks until Mundle is back and Watson is scheduled to return at the end of January. They'll be able to win and compete without him but, undoubtedly, it's a blow to lose him.

"I'd be very shocked if Sunderland don't remain in the top six until the end of the season. I've seen enough fight, resilience and character in the way that they have won matches. I've definitely seen enough from them. At the moment, I think they will probably not win automatic promotion but, having said that, we don't know what they'll do in January and how much they'll spend.

"What we do know is that they're more flexible in their approach to recruitment and signing experienced players, evidenced by the additions of Alan Browne and Chris Mepham.

"It will be interesting to see what they do in the window. I'd assume they won't let any of their best players to leave as they may not get a better opportunity than this to return to the Premier League."

Regis Le Bris needs to improve Sunderland AFC squad depth in January

One call of duty for Le Bris in January is surely going to involve strengthening the depth within his squad, which would be a huge aid to their ambitions of returning to the Premier League.

Although the former Lorient boss has instilled resilience and unity in this Sunderland side, qualities which have been at the heart of some of their finest victories this term, their squad is rather thin beneath the starting line-up and that could well be exposed later on in the season.

Ironically, Watson's own acceleration into the first-team frame came in a bid to offset the absence of Mundle, who has been sensational when fit this season.

It's likely that 19-year-old Eliezer Mayenda will play wide-left for the time being, but Sunderland's squad would benefit from some fine-tuning in January and supporters will surely be demanding certain tweaks and improvements.