Sunderland AFC have been dealt with another injury blow, with Manchester United loanee Adnan Januzaj having been ruled out for six weeks with a knee injury. 

Another setback

It has been another terrible start to the campaign for the Black Cats both on and off the field, with a significant number of key player picking up long-term injuries.

Januzaj has proven quite the asset, having proven surplus to requirements under Jose Mourinho, scoring the stunner winner in the EFL Cup win over Shrewsbury Town.

However the young Belgian has been added to the injury list containing the likes of Sebastian Larsson, Vito Mannone and Fabio Borini.

The 21-year-old was take on off in the narrow 3-2 defeat to Crystal Palace, and a scan on Tuesday revealed that he had ankle ligament damage.

Above: Jermain Defoe celebrating one of his two goals in Sunderland's 3-2 defeat to Crystal Palace | Photo: Getty Images
Above: Jermain Defoe celebrating one of his two goals in Sunderland's 3-2 defeat to Crystal Palace | Photo: Getty Images

Picking up the positives

David Moyes' suffered yet another defeat at the weekend, with the loss Alan Pardew's side. The Black Cats have yet to win a league win, and they will go into October without for the fourth consecutive season.

However Saturday's goalscorer Jermaine  Defoe, believes that there is some positives to take from Saturday's narrow defeat.

“There were a lot of positives to take from the game,” said Defoe. “The amount of chances we created and our energy levels, and we put more crosses into the box, which is what the manager wanted."

He continued: “It’s important we take something (against West Brom),” and firmly stated. “It’s also important for the lads to forget about last Saturday."

Defoe concluded: “We have to go back to the training pitch, work hard and try to put in the same kind of performance, and hopefully if we get a little bit of luck, we will get the points that we need."

Sunderland AFC will take on West Bromwich Albion at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, October 1 with kick-off at 3pm BST. 

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About the author
Danial  Kennedy
Award-winning sports journalism graduate. Currently studying a PR Masters at the University of Sunderland. Writing for VAVEL since August 2014. Twitter - @ddkjournalism.