Corry Evans injury update as Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray praises Luke O’Nien’s captain qualities

Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray says club captain Corry Evans is still making decisions around the dressing room as he recovers from a long-term injury setback.

The 33-year-old midfielder hasn’t played since January after suffering damage to his anterior cruciate ligament during a match against Middlesbrough at the Stadium of Light.

Evans has been working hard on his rehabilitation over the summer but will remain sidelined for the coming months.

“I think it’s Christmas, New Year time for Corry,” Mowbray told the Echo when asked about Evans’ situation. “It’s still a few months down the line.

“I do see him out on the grass sometimes extending box-to-box runs.

“That’s obviously a bad injury and needs full rehabilitation over a long period of time.

“Corry is still around and making an impact on some decisions around the dressing room and around the players.”

In Evans’ absence, Luke O’Nien has captained Sunderland this season, following the departures of Danny Batth and Lynden Gooch who joined Norwich and Stoke respectively over the summer.

O’Nien has previously spoken about the immense pride he feels leading the team out, while Mowbray says the 28-year-old has been a natural fit for the role.

“Luke has embraced that,” said Mowbray. “I think it’s very natural for Luke to take on those responsibilities.

“He’s still got Corry and more experienced players around the building, less after Danny Batth and Goochy obviously left.

“Luke has embraced it. It’s interesting, obviously they have group chats and stuff like that and Luke keeps everybody really informed on everything really, ticket allocations, how many we’ve got, who wants them.

“He’s a good communicator, he’s a very thoughtful kid. As somebody trying to lead within the dressing room it’s good for all the young guys there’s somebody in there who is really organised and makes sure that it’s not a last second thing for a young boy who didn’t realise he had to ask for tickets for instance. Luke has already thought about that and gets everything done.”