Sunderland have suffered a major injury blow with skipper Corry Evans expected to miss the remainder of the season with cruciate liagment damage. The midfielder limped out of the Black Cats' weekend 2-0 victory against Middlesbrough after suffering the injury in the first ten minutes at the Stadium of Light.
He tried to play on but was eventually replaced by Edouard Michut with 11 minutes on the clock. Boss Tony Mowbray said immediately after the game that Evans had suffered a knock to the knee but that the initial view was that there was no damage to either cartilage or ligaments.
But a scan this week has shown that Evans has in fact suffered damage to his anterior cruciate ligament and will require surgery. The club confirmed in a statement today that the 32-year-old is set to miss the remainder of the campaign.
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The statement said: "Sunderland AFC can confirm that Corry Evans has suffered damage to his anterior cruciate ligament. The midfielder will undergo surgery, and is expected to be sidelined for the remainder of the season after picking up the injury during Sunday’s win over Middlesbrough.
"We're right behind you, Skipper."
Losing Evans is a big blow for Mowbray, with the Northern Ireland international an influential member of his side both in terms of his ability and also his experience. Evans has been involved in 24 of Sunderland's 27 Championship games this season, and has made 64 appearances in all competitions since he joined the club from Mowbray's old club Blackburn Rovers in 2021.
Sunderland already have on-loan Paris St Germain midfielder Michut who can fill the gap left by Evans, and this week they also brought in France youth international Pierre Ekwah from West Ham. Ekwah was expected to be considered as competition and cover for Evans, but the 21-year-old is now likely to be handed an expanded role in the remaining 19 games.
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