Tony Mowbray reluctant to throw rookie defender Joe…

Tony Mowbray reluctant to throw rookie defender Joe Anderson in at deep end despite injury crisis

Tony Mowbray is reluctant to throw rookie centre-back Joe Anderson in at the deep end even as Sunderland face a defensive injury crisis which could derail their play-off bid - unless he has no other optionThe Black Cats are down to the bare bones as they head to top-six rivals West Bromwich Albion tomorrow, with skipper Danny Batth the latest to be ruled out through injury.

Batth's season is over after he picked up a knee problem in Tuesday night's draw against Huddersfield Town, and he joins fellow defenders Aji Alese (thigh) and Dan Ballard (hamstring) in the treatment room. Like Batth, Alese will not play again this season while Ballard will not be ready to face the Baggies, although there is a chance he might be fit for either or both of the last two games of the Championship campaign.

That leaves Mowbray with just one regular senior centre-back in the shape of Luke O'Nien, although there is a further headache in that the 28-year-old's wife is due to give birth any time now and his involvement in Sunday's game could come into doubt if their baby arrives in the hours leading up to the match and he needs to rush home to Wearside. In the circumstances, one option for Mowbray would be to call on Anderson, but he is wary of putting the 22-year-old January signing from Everton straight into the side but given he has just 16 minutes of senior football to his name, that would be a gamble.

Mowbray would prefer to send Anderson out on loan next season to get some first-team experience before starting him in the Championship, but accepts that his hand may be forced before then. "Joe is a wonderful footballer, left-footed, picks wonderful passes, he's really composed, a really good personality, but I just feel that he is not quite physically ready for the Championship at this moment," said Mowbray.

"It's a really tough, rough, place and a tough position to try and learn your job, which is why generally I send young centre-halves out on loan and they come back much more ready having played 50 or 60 games. I said to Joe that we'd talk about it in the summer, he'll come and do pre-season and we'll see where we are: whether he is in the team, not in the team, or how close he is.

"It might be an option for us somewhere down the line [to go out on loan] to get him some games. If he has to be involved and play [this season], I will put him in. I just feel that right in the heart of your defence it is a big ask because one mistake, somebody overpowering you, then you get judged.

"What I don't like to do is expose them too young, before I think they are ready, and people make their minds up about them and say 'they're not good enough, they're not strong enough, every time he plays we get beat'. You have to be careful with young defenders and young goalkeepers. They have to be ready, and when they are ready you have to trust them and put them in.

"Until you put them in, you generally don't know of course - until Joe has the opportunity to start a game or plays or comes on as he has done once or twice for us, he has to be ready to do the job and I wouldn't worry one iota when he has the ball or we're in possession. My fear is that he's not Danny Batth or Dan Ballard who are powerhouses really, he's a spindly kid who has a wand of a left foot.

"We'll see. If he has to play, we'll put him in."

Sunderland will have Dennis Cirkin available again after he sat out the Huddersfield game due to suspension and he has played as the left-sided centre-back as part of a back three on occasion this season. If Mowbray went down that route, it could see O'Nien playing in the middle of the three with Trai Hume on the right side.

Tony Mowbray reluctant to throw rookie defender Joe Anderson in at deep end despite injury crisis

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