Dick Advocaat’s problems at Sunderland intensified on Wednesday when Adam Johnson sustained a serious shoulder injury in training. Although the results of scans will not be available until Thursday at the earliest, the consensus is that the winger will be on the sidelines for a minimum of eight weeks.
“Adam will go to hospital for a scan and then we will know exactly what is wrong,” said Sunderland’s manager. “But it is a serious injury and it will be at least eight weeks.”
The 28-year-old played the full game as Sunderland were sunk 4-2 at Leicester City last Saturday, taking on the captain’s armband when Lee Cattermole was substituted.
With Jordi Gómez still recovering from spring-time knee surgery, Advocaat’s attacking midfield options are not quite as extensive as he would like.
A longer-term cloud on the club’s horizon is Johnson’s trial at Bradford crown court in February. He has denied three counts of sexual activity with a girl under 16 and one count of grooming.
