Lee Johnson confirms Josh Scowen injury blow amid COVID-19 outbreak at club

The 27-year-old could be out for seven weeks, depending on how his recovery progresses.

"The X-ray found a chip or a slight fracture to the shin, which is bad news," Lee Johnson said.

"The best case scenario is that he will be out for three weeks, the worst case scenario is seven weeks.

"It will probably be somewhere between that. It's frustrating because he's a player that knows me and I know him, and I thought he'd been excellent in the game so far."

Johnson's options have been severely depleted by a COVID-19 outbreak at the club, which left him without eight senior players on Tuesday night.

The game against Shrewsbury Town on Saturday is now in doubt, with further testing likely to follow.

Johnson said after the 1-1 draw with AFC Wimbledon that closing the training ground could be a possibility as a result of the outbreak.

Everything Lee Johnson said on Sunderland's COVID-19 outbreak as he hits out at EFL for lack of clarity

Sunderland's Head Coach was forced to pick a number of players well short of fitness for the game, and said their commitment to the cause had given him heart for the challenges ahead.

Lynden Gooch played 45 minutes despite having not trained for weeks and despite the fact he is still feeling the effects of a foot injury.

"There was a lot of effort and endeavour," Johnson said.

"A lot of players showed a great attitude and put their head above the parapet when often players won't in that kind of circumstance. That's the bit I'm so proud of.

"At least it means something to these guys, because they should have been nowhere near this game. The likes of [Jordan] Willis, Gooch and [Aiden] O'Brien. They performed very, very well considering the circumstances.

"Lynden Gooch had no training and an injury.

"He's in pain out there but has played through it, which shows me he has a big heart.

"He volunteered to do that, we didn't ask him to do it, and to do that gives us a good chance moving forward."

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