GUS POYET admits it is a major blow to have lost Emanuele Giaccherini for the rest of the season – but the Sunderland head coach has backed the Italian to return as a better player for the experience.

Giaccherini has made just two Premier League starts this season as a succession of injury problems have forced him on to the sidelines and prevented him from getting into any kind of rhythm on the field.

Having missed the start of the season with a groin problem, the winger was sidelined for almost two months with a serious ankle injury. The issue flared up again in this month’s FA Cup replay win over Fulham, and a consultation with a specialist this week resulted in Sunderland’s medical staff conceding that surgery was the only way to achieve a long-term resolution.

Giaccherini is expected to have an operation next week, and with his side just two places above the relegation zone, Poyet concedes the 29-year-old’s guile and creativity will be badly missed in the final two-and-a-half months of the campaign.

“Losing him is a big blow,” said the Black Cats head coach. “You need to know him as a person, and how nice he is, and how determined he was to make an impact this season after what happened last year.

“He had a difficult summer after not making the World Cup squad, but he didn’t sulk. He can still make a big impact at this club when he’s fit.

“Last season was tough for him because of the circumstances in which he arrived. Being so small, it took him time to adapt to English football, and the system I played didn’t really suit him.

“But when he returned before the season he was a different player – like a new signing – and we were looking to use him in different positions. He was really pushing, but he got injured at Burnley.

“It took him a while to come back, and then he played his best game for us at Fulham where he ended up getting a terrible kick in the same place. Now, he will have an operation.”

Giaccherini has produced flashes of inspiration in his two seasons on Wearside, but Sunderland fans will justifiably feel that they are still to see the best of a player who boasts 21 full Italy caps.

He spent most of his first campaign in a left-wing role that did not really play to his strengths, and while the current campaign has seen him in a more central playmaker position, his positive contributions have tended to be few and far between.

Poyet’s reluctance to field him as part of his first-choice XI perhaps reflects a concern about Giaccherini’s ability to handle the physical challenges of the Premier League, but the Sunderland boss insists he remains confident the £8.5m signing from Juventus will eventually establish himself in the Black Cats ranks.

“He’s sad rather than down about what’s happened because his season is over,” he said. “It’s different if you don’t play because the manager doesn’t pick you, but it’s a very different feeling when you are doing well and then you are injured.

“If he comes back next season in the way he started this one, then he is going to play regularly. I’m telling you that he can be impressive, and I’m not just saying that because he’s out.

“He has moved to another level and adapted. He is stronger and more clear-minded now, and we will see that when he is fit.

“He thought he would be fit to face Manchester United (tomorrow), and it’s the type of game where we will need players like him between the lines, but it wasn’t to be. He’s at his best in games where there is space.”

While Giaccherini will not be making the trip to Old Trafford tomorrow, full-back Anthony Reveillere has been passed fit despite suffering a knock in last weekend’s goalless draw with West Brom.

Billy Jones and Jack Rodwell will not be considered for tomorrow’s game, but Poyet is hoping to be able to call upon the duo for Tuesday’s trip to Hull City.

“Everyone who was fit last week is fine,” he said. “Billy would be a risk, but Anthony will play. It will be the same group on duty as it was for the last game.”