Phil Parkinson confirms major Sunderland injury blow in Bailey Wright update

Bailey Wright is facing a battle to play again this season after tests confirmed he is set to miss eight to twelve weeks with an ankle injury.
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Wright came off late in the 1-0 victory over Oxford United on Saturday, with Parkinson fearing that he had suffered a serious ankle problem.

Tests have confirmed that he will miss the majority of Sunderland’s run-in as they chase automatic promotion.

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“It didn’t look good at the time and further tests have unfortunately confirmed that he will miss eight to 12 weeks,” Parkinson said.

Bailey Wright in actionBailey Wright in action
Bailey Wright in action

“It’s a blow for the squad, but more than anything we are disappointed for Bailey because he’s come into the team and played really well.

“I’m sure he will come back stronger, but as I have mentioned many times before, the lads currently out of the team have been excellent and we have good options available in his absence.”

Wright is out of contract in the summer at Bristol City and made a major impression in his first five appearances for the Black Cats.

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They kept a clean sheet in four of those games, and after his debut at Tranmere Rovers, Wright admitted he would like the opportunity to try and stake a claim for a stay at the club beyond the summer.

“I've come here to be part of a successful group and I think there's something really good happening here,” he said.

“I'm enjoying myself and I want to get back to my best, and to do that I need to be winning games of football and making sure this team is successful. I'll just take it from there.”

Alim Ozturk is set to take Wright’s place for the visit of Bristol Rovers this weekend.

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Ozturk had been in good form before Parkinson made what we admitted was a ‘very, very tough call’ to take him out of the side for that clash at Prenton Park.

“When we made the change at Tranmere it was a tough call, if Bailey is out for a period then Alim comes in and I have no problems with that at all,” he said.

“Alim has a great personality, he is a good lad, even though he has been out of the team, he has trained well.

“We went with the same team for a period of time and sometimes it can be difficult to keep those lads going not in the team but as I keep saying in the press, they have been outstanding and have helped drive the lads in the team on.”

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Ozturk’s contribution at the Kassam Stadium drew praise from his captain on the day, Max Power.

“Special praise for Alim, coming on at 1-0 and it's backs-to-the-wall at such a late stage in the game,” he said.

“It would have been really easy for Alim to have sulked of late and it's credit to him, he's been a model professional.

“Bailey has come into the team and done great, we've kept clean sheets, but Alim's come on and helped us see the game through.”