Former Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner has opened up about his spell on Wearside.
The Danish striker who is currently playing for Tarnby FF in the Danish fourth tier, had a spell at Sunderland in 2011/12.
The 32-year-old scored eight goals in 28 appearances at the Black Cats.
Speaking to FourFourTwo, Bendtner said: "Overall I liked my time at Sunderland, but I didn’t get as much out of it as I’d hoped because I picked up an injury.
"I got a kick in one of my eyes, which meant I had to play wearing a mask.
"My plan was never to stay at the club permanently, but it didn’t finish that well with the manager, Martin O’Neill."
Bendtner is stranger to controversy in his career - he was cleared of vandalising cars in Newcastle after a night out with Lee Cattermole.
He said: "After looking at all the CCTV, I pleaded not guilty.
"You could see that I wasn’t a part of it, so I was rightly exonerated.
"Me and Lee Cattermole were drinking a little too heavily that night, though, that’s for sure."
