Phil Parkinson gives injury update on 'excellent' Sunderland duo Callum McFadzean and Oliver Younger

McFadzean has made an impressive start to his Sunderland career, and scored his first goal to open the scoring at Highbury Stadium.

The Black Cats were preparing to bring him off in the second half, before he pulled up as Fleetwood broke away to score their second goal.

McFadzean will be assessed ahead of the League One clash with MK Dons on Saturday, with Parkinson optimistic that his hamstring has not suffered any significant challenge.

“It doesn't look too bad,” Parkinson said.

“Even with the injuries, I was about to bring him off and so I was so frustrated when he went down.

“I think and hope it's just a bit of spasm in there as I thought he was tremendous and gave us a real creative spark down the left.

“He got us that goal and then when he had to go into left sided centre-back, I thought he was excellent there as well.

“I just keep my fingers crossed tonight that's not too bad, because he's had a really good start to his Sunderland career.”

Defensive injuries were the main drawback to an evening where Sunderland had dominated the first half and entirely deserved their lead.

Both Oliver Younger and Cieran Dunne suffered injuries, with Dunne substituted just five minutes after replacing Younger.

Younger’s injury was a real blow for the summer signing, who has made a significant impression on Parkinson and his staff.

The former Burnley youngster struck the bar with a superb header, and defended well throughout.

“Cieran dislocated his shoulder,” Parkinson explained.

"It’s popped back in, so we’ll have to look at that. Ollie, who I thought was excellent, I was just so frustrated for him because he’s made a real impression on us all since he’s been with us.

"He just sprinted for the ball and felt his hamstring tighten up. Sometimes, when the pace of the game is that little bit quicker than you’re used to, those things happen. We’ve just got to hope it’s not too bad.

“He’s made his mark, but he’s made his mark in training with the lads as well. He’s done really well. It obviously takes the gloss off the night for those lads that we’ve picked up a couple of injuries, but we’ll not know how bad they are until the morning.”

Parkinson is also expecting Jordan Willis to be in contention, despite the injuries meaning he had to stay on the pitch for the entire 90 minutes.

Willis is set to have an injection in his patella tendon after the game on Saturday, which will then see him sidelined for two to three weeks.

Parkinson was eager to get him some competitive action ahead of that challenge.

"We looked at Jordan's training over the last few weeks,” Parkinson explained.

“He's had a lot in terms of his sessions but we felt he just needed some 11-v-11 practice in preparation for the weekend.

“My intention was to give him 60/70 minutes, but obviously the injuries meant we couldn't do that.”

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