Lee Johnson explains the next steps for Everton loanee Nathan Broadhead - and where Sunderland's January plans stand

Nathan Broadhead is waiting to see if he will need surgery on the hamstring injury that is threatening his season, and the result of that assessment could determine Sunderland's next steps in the transfer market.
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The Black Cats fear that if surgery is required he may not be able to play again this season, leaving the club with a difficult dilemma as to whether they free up an addition loan spot in their squad.

Under EFL rules there are no limits on how many players a sign can on loan, though only five can be named in a matchday squad at any one time.

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The decision of course could be taken out of Sunderland's hands, as Everton have a recall clause that can be activated at any stage in January.

Sunderland striker Nathan BroadheadSunderland striker Nathan Broadhead
Sunderland striker Nathan Broadhead

Whatever happens next, the setback is a 'disaster' for Sunderland, and a major blow for a player who was in superb form.

Johnson said earlier this week that the club would offer whatever support they could to the 23-year-old.

"He's going to be referred to a surgeon," Johnson said.

"It's a grade 3A, which is bad, and the physios are half-and-half, so it will be up to the surgeon.

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"I don't think he will [need an operation] need one, actually, and if he doesn't then it will be three months, but if he does then it could be anywhere up to five.

"That's something we have to consider [whether he returns to Everton]," Johnson added.

"A lot goes into that - the contract, the money, what Everton's preference is. They have an option to recall him anyway so they might do that on the back of [the injury].

"It's an absolute disaster and we are going to need help.

"We're going to need to add to the squad in January."

Sunderland have a number of other options in terms of their loanees, particularly as Frederik Alves' future seems uncertain amid limited senior game time.

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The head coach also added that he expects the ongoing issues with COVID-19 across the pyramid to make the loan market a slow one to begin with, and says it's important the club has permanent targets, too.

“The problem you’ve got at the moment is a lot of clubs are holding onto a lot of players with the Covid situation. Nobody wants [to let go] a young player that is decent on loan," he said.

“They are the ones we will be going for. The ones that are on the verge of team anyway and therefore, higher level will want to hold onto people.

“It’s a drop in the ocean financially. I reckon quite a few of those will be late shouts but we’re certainly in contact.

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“You can only play five loans anyway so we’ll have to decide what to do with our current loans.

“Obviously you’ve got the option to convert a loan into a permanent or send people back which creates space.

"Also, we don’t just want to be living off loans all the time. We want to be able to hold onto these players and try and develop them as much as possible."

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