Sunderland handed fresh injury scare as defender is substituted in international fixture
Sunderland will have to assess a new injury concern from their cohort of international players
Sunderland have been handed a fresh injury scare after Omar Alderete was forced off in the latter stages of Paraguay's friendly against South Korea on Tuesday.
Alderete was substituted in the 81st minute of Paraguay's 2-0 defeat, with ESPN’s live feed reporting that he had suffered an injury. Local reports have since reported that the 28-year-old was suffering with muscle discomfort. The severity of the issue is not yet known on Wearside, and Sunderland will be hoping that the substitution was a precautionary one. Alderete has been in exceptional form since joining the Black Cats from La Liga side Getafe in the summer, and will have a crucial role to play against Wolves on Saturday if fit. Alderete will be assessed when he returns to Sunderland in the coming days to see if there is indeed an injury issue. Dan Ballard will likely return to the starting XI if Alderete is not able to start, though that is at this stage not known.
Sunderland have already suffered one significant injury setback in the international break, with Noah Sadiki suffering a sprained ankle. The midfielder was released from the DR Congo squad and is being assessed by the Black Cats to see if he can play a part against Wolves this weekend. Régis Le Bris will give an update on the pair when he holds his pre-match press conference on Thursday afternoon.
Reinildo will serve the third and final game of his suspension when Wolves visit the Stadium of Light, while Habib Diarra remains absent with a groin injury. Romaine Mundle, Dennis Cirkin, Leo Hjelde and Aji Alese are all still recovering from injury and are not expected to be in contention until the start of next month at the earliest.
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Why Noah Sadiki had to withdraw from international duty
Sunderland midfielder Noah Sadiki has issued an update after missing DR Congo’s World Cup qualifier through injury, with fans anxiously awaiting news on his condition ahead of the Premier League’s return.
The 20-year-old, who has quickly become one of Régis Le Bris’ most influential players, was left out of the Leopards’ squad to face Sudan and was spotted walking with a slight limp earlier in the week. Sadiki took to Instagram to confirm he had not recovered in time to feature for his country on Tuesday after DR Congo confirmed the player had suffered an ankle strain.
Posting to his story, he wrote: “Enormously saddened not to be fit in time for this match. I wanted to play again in Kinshasa in front of our home crowd to get some revenge, but that's life. I will be behind my nation and my teammates, who will, I'm sure, give their best to lead us towards our dream. As for me, I will do everything to come back stronger to help my country. Romans 8:31.”