Exclusive:Ex-Sunderland star Jason McAteer delivers key Granit Xhaka claim amid potential injury blow
Sunderland captain Granit Xhaka picked up an injury during last weekend’s 1-0 win over Chelsea.
Jason McAteer has argued that Sunderland captain Granit Xhaka will remain a “big part of the team” even if he is sidelined for a while through injury.
The veteran midfielder was forced off during the opening exchanges of the Black Cats’ 1-0 win over Chelsea just prior to the international break, and subsequently withdrew from Switzerland’s squad for their upcoming UEFA Nations League fixtures against Slovenia and Scotland. But while there remains no concrete indication on exactly how long Xhaka is expected to be out of action for, McAteer has suggested that even if he is absent on the field, the 34-year-old will still be a notable presence in Regis Le Bris’ dressing room.
Speaking exclusively to The Echo, courtesy of Casino Kings, when asked for his thoughts on Xhaka’s potential injury blow and how it might impact Sunderland over the coming weeks, the pundit said: “I think Xhaka will spend a lot of time, obviously, in the dressing room and off the pitch regardless.
“You speak about this culture within a football club, and you need senior pros. It's why [Jordan] Henderson goes into Brentford and Chelsea, and why Brighton take [James] Milner and [Adam] Lallana and these players. Granit is obviously at Sunderland, and they've seen it, been there and done it. They know what it takes. They know how to train. They know the demands and the standards that need to be met. The managers will bounce off them as well. They'll use them for their experience.
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“Like I said, they [Sunderland] bought young in that transfer window when they went up. They had a lot of inexperience, but they had a lot of enthusiasm and pace, and that's how they won games. “Then, obviously, that dropped off as the depth of the squad was found out. Xhaka knows that. He knows it's a different challenge now. It's okay when you're winning games. Your voice is heard, everything ticks along nicely, and going in for double sessions is okay because you're winning.
“But when you're losing, the weather changes, and voices start to stop being heard. The coaches are being questioned, and the manager's tactics are being questioned because you're not winning. “Your squad players who aren't playing are now looking at you and saying, ‘Well, why aren't I playing? We're not winning games. I want my opportunity’. The manager has big decisions to make. Continuity and consistency when you're winning are easy things to maintain, and so is balance.
“But he'll be leaning on Xhaka now. He's a big presence on the pitch. The injury will be a worry because he hasn't got that now, but he'll have him around the dressing room, and he'll still have him around the training ground. “Obviously, training times might be different, but it'll be interesting to see how his schedule is managed because they'll want him in and around the squad. So he's a big loss on the pitch. But he will still be a big part of the team.”