LUKE O'NIEN could be facing up to three months on the sidelines after suffering a suspected dislocated shoulder in Sunderland's 1-1 draw with Burton Albion last night.

O’Nien left the field in considerable pain in the closing stages, and is due to undergo a series of scans later today.

If, as is suspected, he has dislocated his shoulder, he could be sidelined for anything between six and 12 weeks depending on the extent of the damage.

His absence would be a major blow to the managerless Black Cats as he has started all bar one of the club's league games this season, filling a number of positions including full-back, wing-back and centre-half.

"It might be quite a serious one,” admitted Sunderland's caretaker manager, Andrew Taylor. "He looked in a lot of pain. It looked like a dislocated shoulder to me, but we’ll have to see."

Charlie Wyke was taken off in the first half of last night's game, and while the striker's problem is not believed to be as serious, he is an early doubt for Saturday's home game with Wigan Athletic.

"Charlie is not sure about his," said Taylor. "It has swollen very quickly, he's not sure if he's twisted it or if he's just got a bang.

"We'll have to assess him (today) and see where he is."