The defensive headache Sunderland boss Phil Parkinson will have to solve with double international blow looming

With 10 matches gone and seven goals conceded, only Charlton Athletic can boast a comparable record in League One, and only Middlesbrough and Swansea City have shipped fewer in the whole of the Football League.

A large part of that solidity at the back has come from Phil Parkinson’s perseverance when it comes to playing a three-man defensive unit.

The Black Cats have fielded a trio of centre-backs in every single one of their matches so far this season – up from 44% of outings last term – and the rewards have been clear to see.

With injuries to the likes of Jordan Willis and Arbenit Xhemajli besetting his squad in recent weeks, the manager has, in the past couple of games at least, turned to Tom Flanagan and Conor McLaughlin to play either side of Bailey Wright in his preferred system.

And the three look to have formed a good working relationship right off the bat.

Consecutive wins – conceding just once in the process – have helped to steady the ship a little after October’s minor wobble, and in an ideal world, you would imagine that Parkinson would have liked to have kept faith in a winning side going into Sunderland’s next league clash against MK Dons a week on Saturday.

In a twist most supporters would probably categorise as “typical”, however, the likelihood is that the Black Cats will be without both Flanagan and McLaughlin for that fixture.

The duo have been called up to represent Northern Ireland during the next international break, and while the Wearsiders are usually fortunate enough to make up the three-man quota of absentees needed for their league game to be postponed in such circumstances, this time it looks as if they are going to have grit their teeth and play on with a weakened contingent.

And that really is a shame, because Flanagan and McLaughlin have shown a great deal of promise over their past two performances.

The former, for example, made 12 interceptions against Ipswich Town in midweek – his highest tally of the season to date and his second-highest since the beginning of last term.

Likewise, his aerial duel success rate against the Tractor Boys was a full 16.4% higher than his season average.

Flanagan hasn’t only been reading the game well and nipping danger in the bud where possible, but he also been putting in dominant physical displays that have added a stoicism to the backline as a whole.

Similarly, McLaughlin made a season-best 16 ball recoveries against Gillingham last weekend, and he has won as many defensive duels in his last two outings as he did in his previous four combined.

For a player who was signed as a right wing-back, he’s slotted into his more reserved role with aplomb, and it’s a blow that his positive momentum will be disrupted by a spell away with his national side.

Of course, from Parkinson’s point of view, it leaves the Black Cats with a bit of a selection headache going into their clash against the Dons too.

Thankfully, Russell Martin’s men haven’t exactly been scoring for fun, and 11 goals in 11 league games is hardly a fearsome record.

That being said, Sunderland know this division well enough by now to know that nothing can be taken for granted.

Much will rest on whether or not Willis is able to feature.

Speaking over the weekend, Parkinson suggested that the plan was to manage the centre-back’s knee complaint by waiting until after the game at the Stadium of Light to give him a much-needed injection that will probably keep him sidelined for at least a fortnight.

But even if the 26-year-old can play, that still leaves the boss with one more spot to fill.

Luke O’Nien has deputised admirably at the heart of defence already this season, but you would imagine that the nod would likely go to loanee Dion Sanderson.

The youngster is a natural centre-half, and made his debut in that role in the 2-2 draw against Rochdale last month.

To his credit, he did well in that showing, making 16 ball recoveries, winning seven out of his 11 contested defensive duels, and putting in six interceptions.

The key for him now is to prove that he can turn out that kind of display consistently, as he did for Cardiff City over the course of much of the second half of last season.

Sanderson played virtually all of that stint at right-back, however, and no matter the size of his potential or the sureness of his debut, asking a 20-year-old to put in 90 minutes at centre-back in a league as physical as the English third tier is always going to be a challenging proposition.

Factor in the recent form that Flanagan and McLaughlin have begun to show, and the new signing – assuming he does start – will have big shoes to fill next weekend.