Sunderland's Denver Hume suffers new injury setback

The Sunderland full-back suffered a setback in the 1-0 home defeat to Wigan Athletic under caretaker boss Andrew Taylor, but had gradually worked his way back to fitness.

However, he suffered a recurrence of the problem in training this weeks, and scans have revealed a serious hamstring tear that could sideline him until mid-March.

“Unfortunately, Denver has had a recurrence of his injury during his rehabilitation,” confirmed Sunderland head coach Lee Johnson. “It’s bad news on that one. He’s got a grade three hamstring tear, which probably means somewhere between six and eight weeks out.

“I feel for him, first and foremost. He’d worked really hard and got up to top speed, which was good, and we thought he was probably a week or ten days away, but then a very innocuous stretch for a pass that was misplaced meant that the injury ended up recurring. We’ve sent him for a scan, and that’s ended up coming back not good. That’s a shame.”

There is better news when it comes to Luke O’Nien’s recovery from the injury, with the versatile 26-year-old set to be available within a fortnight.

O’Nien will miss Saturday’s trip to AFC Wimbledon and next Tuesday’s home game with Plymouth, but he has an outside chance of featuring in the home game with Shrewsbury on January 23 and should hopefully be available for the trip to Ipswich Town on the following Tuesday.

“It’s much better news on Luke,” said Johnson. “There’s always a risk that there could be a recurrence, but what we’ve really got to take on Luke is his confidence levels and how far he’s willing to progress it.

“He’s an interesting character from what I’ve learned so far – he’s quite demanding of his coaches, which is good, and always wants to do more. Obviously, I love that, but we’re having to put the reins on him to protect him.

“He’s been good as gold, and I would hope that if all goes well, then in ten days or maybe two weeks he would be available for selection.”