Tony Mowbray fears Elliot Embleton has suffered a serious injury after the midfielder was taken to hospital by ambulance after being stretchered off in the second half of Sunderland's draw at Hull City. Embleton looked to injure his knee after falling awkwardly as he challenged Ryan Woods - with Embleton's woes compounded when referee Gavin Ward showed him a straight red card for a high boot as the 23-year-old departed the field on a stretcher.
Mowbray felt the referee's decision was 'a bit rash', but it was the injury to Embleton that was the greater concern for the head coach. "He's gone to hospital," said Mowbray of Embleton. "He's gone in an ambulance to hospital, he was in a lot of discomfort.
"I don't really want to comment on what we think it is. Our club doctor was here and he thought it was serious enough for him to go to hospital.
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"He was in a lot of pain and hopefully whatever he needs doing, he will get looked after well. It looks like a bad injury. Let's wait and see what the true diagnosis of that is."
And of the red card, Mowbray added: "I've seen it back now, I've seen it super-slow, and I think the referee will be disappointed when he sees it that he has sent the player off. The ball is bouncing, they both jump, Elliot catches him with his knee in the player's arm, he does flick his foot but there is no contact.
"The contact was between Elliot's knee and the player's arm. It happens fast, and maybe the referee sees the player rolling around holding his head and that maybe makes him make that decision.
"Having watched it and studied it, though, the contact is with the arm and they both jumped off the floor and the referee was probably a bit rash in his decision, in my opinion."
Embleton was sent off with the game still goalless, although Hull's Oscar Estupinian had missed a penalty a few minutes earlier. But Ross Stewart came off the bench to make his comeback after three months out with a thigh injury, and he put the Black Cats ahead 15 minutes from the end.
However, Hull sub Ozan Tufan levelled things up eight minutes from time. Defender Dan Ballard also made his comeback from a long-term injury, in his case after four months out with a broken bone in his foot.
He came on inside the opening quarter-hour to replace Danny Batth, who went off with a calf issue. Mowbray said: "You get players back fit - Ross Stewart is back fit, Dan Ballard is back fit - but it's the way of the world in football that other players then get injured.
"It's very, very rare that you have your whole squad fit and available. Danny Batth felt his calf. Whether it is a tear, I'm not sure, but he felt a sharp pain in his calf as he pushed off and he had to come off.
"I'm pleased for Ballard. It was longer than we would have wanted him to play, so it was probably almost understandable that he made a tired lunge and gave the penalty away. He should probably only have got 30 minutes today, if we were going to change the centre-backs at all."
And of Stewart he added: "Ross came on and did what I've seen in training, what I've seen in the one game I've had him against Rotherham. He's a very calm finisher.
"The goalkeeper jumped because the ball was bouncing and he thought he was going to lob it over him, but he just prodded it into the ground under him instead. It was a class finish, I would suggest.
"It would have been nice for Ross if we had had a bit more control, because in the first half I felt we had a bit more control although they looked a threat on breakways."
Sunderland were also without midfielder Alex Pritchard at Hull, with Mowbray explaining that he also missed out with a calf injury.
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