TONY Mowbray says Corry Evans will be a huge loss for Sunderland after the captain was ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury - as the Black Cats weigh-up whether to now bring in another midfielder in the remaining days of the transfer window.

Evans is set for surgery after scans revealed the 32-year-old suffered anterior cruciate ligament damage in Sunday's win over Middlesbrough, with the midfielder unlikely to play again this season.

Mowbray was devastated for Sunderland's skipper and the head coach himself says he took the injury blow "pretty badly", but has backed Evans to recover and come back stronger than ever, and says he'll still be a crucial figure around the club even though he's not playing.

Sunderland must now decide whether or not to move for an Evans replacement ahead of Tuesday's transfer deadline. The Black Cats this week signed Pierre Ekwah from West Ham but he's a different type of player to Evans.

Mowbray said: "Watching Pierre today in training, he's full of energy, has a lovely left foot and brings good balance, but he hasn't played a first team game in his life. He was brought in as a supplement to the players who are here, we have to be careful we don't end up with a load of kids playing in centre midfield, a crucial area of the team.

"We tried to bring extra competition with Pierre, now the news about Corry, does it change the dynamics? It wasn't something we were thinking we needed, we were pushing on with other areas of the pitch, but we have a few days to look at it and potentially see if something can be done. I don't sit here and think everything else has stopped and we're now focusing on that.

"Listen, we've had some initial conversations in the last day. We have to wait and see how it impacts on the the stuff we're trying to do."

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Mowbray knows Evans very well, having previously managed the midfielder at Blackburn before his move to Sunderland, and, while the injury is obviously a blow for the team, the head coach's main thoughts are with the player.

"First and foremost, it's a blow for Corry, he's been amazing at this club since he came," said Mowbray.

"Corry is just a really good professional footballer who understands his job, sets the standards in the dressing room. He'll maintain that, he'll be in the treatment room for a while but he'll still set the standards for the young players at this club.

"I have no fears he'll be back stronger and helping us in the future. I haven't personally spoken to him. I took it pretty badly, I went through the situation with Bradley Dack and it's a really personal thing.

"When you're with a footballer and they have a bad injury it's tough. You have to spend a lot of time away from what you want to do, but he'll cope with it fine. Footballers push the reset button and know they have to get on with it.

"I think it's a big loss for the football club, not just the team on the pitch. We understand that. When a void comes on a Saturday afternoon, somebody else has to take the mantle. We have some senior players who can do that I'm sure. It's not for me to delegate, natural human qualities come to the fore."