Sunderland manager problems Alex Pritchard’s injury status and possible selection ahead of Middlesbrough
Tony Mowbray, the manager of Sunderland, has released an injury update.
Alex Pritchard is a huge doubt for Middlesbrough’s visit to the Stadium of Light on Saturday after suffering a calf strain during Sunderland’s win over Watford.
Pritchard has a small calf strain and, while he has not been ruled out, head coach Tony Mowbray believes he will not take any risks with the crucial attacking midfielder having a two-week break to recover.
Mowbray does not anticipate any of his currently injured players to recover for Saturday’s game, but the vast majority are expected to return after the break.
“Pritch is probably is unlikely for the weekend, he’s got a slight calf strain,” Mowbray stated.
“Calf strains, they’re really delicate things, if you gamble you probably have a calf that tears rather than it being a little niggle, and it will be touch and go to see whether he can make it.
“I’ll have a chat with him and if he feels OK…
“The scan was very minimal but it showed damage so collectively we felt it was best he leaves it. There’s an international break coming up but we haven’t nailed down Saturday yet, we’ll wait and see how he feels and how he trains.”
Mowbray’s decision may well be made easier by Abdoullah Ba’s goalscoring return to the starting XI against Watford, as the winger continued his impressive recent form.
Ba’s return saw Patrick Roberts move infield into the number ten role usually played by Pritchard.
“He’s got wonderful athleticism,” Mowbray said.
“I’m pleased for him that he’s broken through any ceiling that might have been there of trying to disrupt Roberts or Clarke every week.
“It was the same team every week. We had Amad doing his job on the right side of the pitch. I feel as if he’s a threat now, he’s powerful in the air, he’s got a wonderful spring.
“He can run all day, he’s fast, mobile. He just has to work on his end product. He scored today so that’s an answer to the question of us needing to see more assists and goal efforts.”
