Sunderland's Corry Evans to miss U21s fixture as Mike Dodds provides injury updates on eight players

Corry Evans won’t play for Sunderland’s under-21s side against Manchester City next week after rolling his ankle in training.

The Black Cats captain has been sidelined for over a year due to an ACL injury but has returned to training in recent weeks. Evans and Bradley Dack, who has been absent since Boxing Day with a hamstring issue, were set to play against City in Premier League 2 on Monday, yet Sunderland don’t want to rush players back too soon.

“Corry rolled his ankle this morning, it’s nothing major, “ said Sunderland’s interim head coach Mike Dodds during Thursday’s press conference. “There was a discussion about him playing or not playing but they just feel they are going to give him a couple of days. Corry isn’t playing on Monday but it’s more of a precaution than anything based on the fact he has been out for a period of time. Bradley Dack is playing on Monday.”

After facing Manchester City, Sunderland’s next under-21s game is against Newcastle on Monday, March 18, with Evans set to feature. Sunderland have also been without several other first-team players in recent weeks, including Aji Alese, Patrick Roberts, Jack Clarke, Dennis Cirkin and Elliot Embleton, with Niall Huggins set to miss the rest of this season with a knee injury.

“Aji is on the grass,” added Dodds. “He’s part-training, he’s running, so he’s not a million miles away. Pat and Jack currently aren’t on the grass so we are still waiting on them.

“Elliot had a slight recurrence of his injury, nothing overly major, but he’s not out on the grass at the moment. He will be a period of time. He might feature towards the end of the season but I don’t know the exact timeframe on that. He’s not in our plans in the immediate future.

“Dennis will probably be slightly earlier in terms of he’s not out on the grass yet, he’s making progress with his rehabilitation. Dennis for me will be another three or four weeks at least I would think.”

While 16-year-old Chris Rigg has been given first-team opportunities in recent weeks, 17-year-old winger Tom Watson, who has been part of the matchday squad, has been absent with a hamstring injury. “He’s had a tight hamstring,” added Dodds. “He is someone like Chris, like any of the young players, if he shows potential he’ll get an opportunity. He’s no different.”