Sunderland team news confirmed ahead of Cardiff and Blackburn games; key duo addressed | OneFootball

Highlights

Sunderland's interim head coach Mike Dodds has provided an update on the fitness of key wingers Jack Clarke and Patrick Roberts.

Dodds' second stint as interim manager, after the sacking of Michael Beale, has only seen one point earned by his side in five matches. One excuse that he has been able to call on is the long list of injuries to key players that Sunderland have been suffering with.

The likes of Corry Evans has had an extended period on the sideline and Nazariy Rusyn is set to be out until nearer the end of the season with a calf problem, as per Chronicle Live. Jenson Seelt is also expected to be out for six-to-nine months due to requiring surgery on his injured knee.

The interim boss said, on the current amount of injured players at the Stadium of Light, via Chronicle Live: "I have never experienced anything like this in my time at the football club."

Players like Evans and Bradley Dack are starting to return to training, and two of Dodds' biggest attacking assets are hopeful to come back soon too.

Jack Clarke and Patrick Roberts injury updates

Dodds has revealed that they are hoping for Roberts to be back in action at some point over the Easter weekend that pitches Sunderland up against Cardiff City and Blackburn Rovers. The Scottish winger has been one of the worst affected players this season, when it comes to injuries. The 27-year-old didn't play in January because of a calf injury, and he has been out since the 14th February because of a hamstring issue that he suffered against Huddersfield Town. Thankfully, for Roberts, there appears to be some light at the end of this injury-plagued tunnel.

Dodds has said that they do have to be careful with the former Celtic player because of his injury history. "Pat [Roberts] has done three or four sessions now so is training with the group," said the 37-year-old, via Chronicle Live. "Obviously, we’ve got to be mindful he has had two hamstring injuries this year as we’ve got two games in a short space of time. Or three games if you include the following Saturday [home to Bristol City]."

The club's top goalscorer, Clarke, has been out since 17th February due to an injury to some of the ligaments in his ankle that he picked up in his side's loss to Tony Mowbray's Birmingham City. It was revealed 11 days later that he would be out for six weeks because of the injury, which would put his return date at around the match against West Bromwich Albion, on the 13th April.

Dodds was hoping that he would be back sooner than scheduled, but he said that this won't be the case. He added: "So Jack is out on the grass, he is running, but I don’t think he’s going to be available this weekend."

Sunderland shouldn't rush back Clarke or Roberts

The Black Cats have eight games to go this season, and they pretty much have nothing to play for, other than pride. They sit 12th in the table, and are eight points off the pack that are chasing a place in the play-offs, and 13 points behind Norwich City, who hold the final play-off spot.

With not much to play for, there's really not much point in trying to rush either of the wingers back to action before they feel 100% fit. There's likely to be Premier League interest in Clarke, with Crystal Palace still holding an interest in the 23-year-old, as per HITC, so they won't want to risk damaging what will likely be an eight-figure pay day by exacerbating any injury he has.

Roberts has been previously linked with a move away from Sunderland, as per the Sunderland Echo, but he signed a new deal in November 2023 that should keep him around until the summer of 2026. He will be a helpful, experienced player for them going forward.

There's almost no upside for Sunderland in trying to bring them back as quickly as possible because they are just risking damage to some of their best goods.