The Championship games Sunderland’s Dan Ballard is set to miss and potential replacements after injury setback

Sunderland defender Dan Ballard has been ruled out for up to six weeks due to a knee injury - with the centre-back set to miss the start of the new Championship season.

Ballard sustained the issue during Sunderland’s pre-season friendly against South Shields and underwent a minor procedure after seeing a specialist in London on Monday. The 24-year-old will now continue his rehabilitation at the Academy of Light but won’t return to action until next month.

If Ballard is unavailable for the next six weeks, the defender would miss Sunderland’s first three league games of the 2024/25 season against Cardiff, Sheffield Wednesday and Burnley, along with next month’s Carabao Cup game at Preston on Tuesday, August 13. After the Burnley fixture at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, August 24, Sunderland will travel to Portsmouth the following weekend, the final fixture before September’s international break.

Ballard was a key player for Sunderland last season, starting 43 of 46 league games for the Black Cats. With the Northern Ireland international set to miss the start of the upcoming campaign, Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris could start Aji Alese or Leo Hjelde alongside Luke O’Nien at centre-back. 

Nectarios Triantis is another centre-back option following a loan spell at SPL side Hibernian last season, yet the Australian defender missed Saturday’s friendly matches against South Shields and Gateshead due to a knock. Jenson Seelt is set to miss the start of the upcoming campaign as he recovers from a knee injury he sustained against Southampton in March.