Sunderland dealt major injury blow after Tommy Watson lay-off confirmation

SUNDERLAND have been dealt a major fresh injury blow, with Tommy Watson facing two months on the sidelines.

The winger was forced off in the first half of Tuesday night's draw with Bristol City after a Zak Vyner tackle.

Watson hurt both his knee and his ankle in the challenge and Regis Le Bris has now confirmed the teenager will miss a major chunk of action.

The Black Cats have 13 games to negotiate between now and the end of February and are already without Romaine Mundle after he suffered a hamstring injury last month.

"He will need two months to recover properly," said Le Bris of Watson in his press conference on Thursday.

"It's both his ankle and knee.

"It was a big impact. It wasn't a very major injury but enough to be out for two months.

"We need all players on the pitch. Tommy has done well but now he has to wait. It's part of the journey and career to face these problems, especially in the Championship with massive intensity. He needs time to recover.

"It's only two months, it could have been worse. It's a reminder that everything is fragile. He was just unlucky and now we have to deal with it."

There's better news for Sunderland with Luke O'Nien having recovered from the illness that forced him to miss the Bristol City game.

Le Bris said: "He will be available this weekend. It will be good to have him back. We have a lot of games and we need the whole squad ready."