'Real chance': Sunderland make loan call on youngster tipped for first-team future by Tony Mowbray

Zak Johnson is set to extend his loan with Hartlepool United until the new year after initial reports suggest the young defender has only suffered a minor injury.

Johnson picked up a knock in his fifth appearance for the National League side, which coincided with his initial month-long loan at the club expiring.

Hartlepool United boss John Askey is understood to be keen to keep the 19-year-old as part of his squad and with his first-team coach confirming that there does not appear to be a significant problem, that now looks highly likely.

"Zak’s is a minor issue as I’m led to believe, I’m not a qualified physio,” Sweeney said.

"He felt something in his groin – whether that’s something to keep him out for a long period I don’t think it is, it might be days more than anything else.

"But we’ll see how it settles down and make a decision on when he’s involved in the squad, but I think it’s a short-term [injury] more than a long term.”

Sunderland head coach Tony Mowbray has not been involved directly in the decision-making process but said last week that he strongly supports the decision to give the defender more exposure to senior football.

Johnson, who is an England youth international, featured regularly during the pre-season programme for Sunderland and Mowbray believes he has a genuine chance to making the grade at first-team level in the future.

Mowbray made the trip to Hartlepool last month to watch Johnson in person.

"He needs to play senior football, I think it's good for really young players." Mowbray said.

"Zak is a really talented boy but it's totally different playing senior football where the result really matters. It's not easy at that level and some of our players, Pierre Ekwah is a classic example of someone who came to us having never played senior football before. "There is an acclimatisation period and it can only be a positive for Zak to get any kind of game time. I think he's got a real chance of being a Sunderland player in future."