TONY MOWBRAY left Patrick Roberts on the bench for Sunderland’s 2-1 defeat at Rotherham United tonight because he was worried the winger was at risk of an injury because of his recent workload.

Roberts was named amongst the replacements at the New York Stadium, and watched on from the sidelines as Sunderland fell behind to goals from Ollie Rathbone and Shane Ferguson.

He was introduced in the immediate aftermath of Joe Gelhardt’s second-half goal for the Black Cats, and helped inspire a spirited fightback that almost earned Mowbray’s side a point.

The Sunderland boss said: “These players are going to get injured unless we’re careful. They’re not robots – they can’t play every three days.

“That would have been seven games in a row for Patrick, playing consecutively every three or four days, so you have to give them a breather.

“Yet you see the impact of a player of his talent when he comes onto the pitch.

“It’s okay. Listen, we haven’t lost away from home since October. It’s not a problem for us, it’s fine, it’s just that we don’t like getting beat.

“We came to Rotherham, who had only won one of their last 13 or whatever it was, and we shouldn’t be losing here. Yet we did, and we’re frustrated.”

Rotherham’s all-action approach appeared to unsettle Sunderland’s players in the first half in particular, and while Mowbray had told his players what to expect from the Millers, he admits they did not really cope with their opponents’ strengths.

He said: “I try and heighten their emotions before every game of what’s coming. We can give every team in the league problems, but I think with the way they play, Rotherham can make a football match of every game because they play against the ball very well.

“They work very hard and they’re very committed. Ultimately, if you want to be a top team, you have to overcome that. The first half, in particular, wasn’t good enough.”