Phil Parkinson faces an anxious wait to discover whether Denver Hume will add to his defensive headaches this weekend.
Sunderland's left wingback is a doubt with a knee injury heading into Saturday's game at Swindon Town.
Hume is the Black Cats' only specialist in that position, although there are of players - such as Conor McLaughlin and Luke O'Nien - who could play in that role if required.
But Parkinson's resources in defence are already stretched to the limit in central defence, with Arbenit Xhemajli ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury, Morgan Feeney set to be out of action for three months with a hamstring problem, and Tom Flanagan due to serve a one-match ban following his red card against Charlton Athletic the weekend before last.
"Denver has a problem with his knee," Parkinson said.
"It doesn't look too serious – he just jarred his knee in training this week – but he's a doubt and it leaves a gap for us defensively.
"But we do have options.
"Luke O’Nien can play at the back and he's a very capable defender, and Conor McLaughlin is also very experienced.
"We have to look at the personnel and the shape to go into the game as strong as we can."
There was some good news on the injury front for Sunderland going into the weekend, however, with striker Will Grigg now back in training.
He missed last week's EFL Trophy game against Carlisle United after a clash of shins in training, and Grigg was sent for an X-ray to check the extent of the damage.
But there was no bone damage and he is expected to be fit this weekend.
Parkinson said: "Will is fine, he had an X-ray after Carlisle and he trained this week, and the end of last week."
