Dan Ballard has admitted he is unsure about the severity of his injury ahead of Sunderland’s trip to Burnley. Black Cats fans were worried when the centre-back hobbled off during the second half of Northern Ireland’s embarrassing home defeat to Finland.
A 1-0 loss dealt a hammer blow to their Euro 2024 hopes and Ballard was hooked with a suspected hamstring injury early in the second half. Already trailing, the Green and White Army ultimately failed to get back into the game and are now second-bottom in Group H.
Ballard missed several months of the season with a foot injury but has been instrumental since December, starting Sunderland’s last 19 fixtures across all competitions. Tony Mowbray’s side have won just one of their last seven games and face the most daunting test possible on Friday night.
