Sunderland defender Jordan Willis is back training on grass as he steps up his recovery from a long-term injury. The 27-year-old has been out of action since February 2021, when he sustained a rupture in his patella tendon against Shrewsbury Town.
A second rupture during surgery extended his time on the sidelines but the Coventry City academy graduate is showing signs of progress having been caught on camera working on grass. He first posted a video of his recovery work on his personal Instagram account before the official Sunderland Twitter account shared clips of him running and doing ball work at the Academy of Light.
He joined the Black Cats in July 2019, ending a lengthy association with Coventry and signing a two-year deal at the Stadium of Light. His contract was extended until the end of the current campaign as the club committed to helping him through his rehabilitation and the end of his struggles now appear to be in sight.
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Willis made 40 appearances in all competitions during his first season with the club and made a further 20 in his second campaign before injury struck. Lee Johnson was in charge at the time of his injury and said : "First and foremost, we are here for Jordan on a human level – if he needs to reach out to any one of us, we will help him as much as we possibly can. On a professional level, we are gutted because of what a good player he is and what he brings to the squad – on and off the pitch – in terms of personality and performance."
It remains to be seen when Willis will return and in the caption accompanying his Instagram post, he insisted he was only in the 'early stages' of working on grass.
