SUNDERLAND'S interim head coach Mike Dodds gave former Black Cats striker Ross Stewart a respectful appraisal after yet another season of injury struggles.

The Scottish international will miss the reunion with his former side this weekend after another season of injury woes. 

Stewart helped spearhead Sunderland's promotion from League One and scored ten goals in 13 appearances on their return to the Championship, before a hamstring injury and then surgery on an Achilles tendon, ruled him out for the rest of the season.

The Black Cats cashed in on the 27-year-old in the summer with contract talks stalling. Stewart completed a £10m move to St. Mary's to join Southampton but has made just two appearances since his move down south.

Those two appearances came after completing his recovery from a damaged Achilles tendon, with a hamstring injury all but ending his current campaign.

Speaking to club media back in December, Saints boss Russell Martin said: "I think we need to be really honest about Ross and realistic, we probably won't see him again this season. Although it’s short-term pain for us, long-term we need Ross to have a full pre-season to then risk him for maybe three or four weeks this season seems a little bit crazy.

"With Ross, we had to re-scan his injury to allow the initial swelling to go down and it wasn’t very good news. Devastated for him and the bad news just keeps coming unfortunately. I still maintain he will be a brilliant signing for this football club over a long period of time. We just need to make sure he’s right and ready to hit the ground running in pre-season." 

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"I've got a lot of love and respect for Ross," Dodds said when asked about Stewart's torrid luck with injuries ahead of this weekend's game. "Not only was he a very good footballer for this football club, he's a great lad. He turned up every day with a smile on his face.

"He worked really hard and I'll be honest, I'm absolutely gutted and devastated for him. If he's listening to this, I say this respectfully, I'm not gutted or desperate that he's missing this weekend.

"But I know how much he'll be hurting right now. He wants to play football and he's probably had a year or so of not being in a great place.

"I do really wish him all the best and hope he's back on the grass and playing as soon as possible. Just not this weekend. I've got nothing but good things to say about Ross."

Sunderland head to St. Mary's on the back of five consecutive defeats in the Championship and have watched their play-off hopes fade into the distance.

Just nine points off the bottom three, the Black Cats will have one eye looking over their shoulder should they suffer yet another defeat on the road this weekend.