Sunderland has suffered another injury to one of their star players who is set to be out for the season.
The 2023/24 campaign has been a miserable one for Sunderland fans. Despite a seemingly good start, the Black Cats’ form fell off a cliff. Even the sacking of both Tony Mowbray and Michael Beale could not fix the decline.
In 2024, this was at its worst, with interim manager Mike Dodds unable to win any of his first five games in charge in his current spell. This caused the club to fall out of the playoff race and into mid-table obscurity.
There have been multiple reasons as to why the club tumbled down the table, with injuries playing a massive role.
Dodds has been forced to deal with numerous injuries to his first team. Stars such as Jack Clarke and Patrick Roberts were forced to miss a number of games due to issues.
Now, with only three games to go, another player has pulled up meaning he will miss the end of the season.
Dan Neil to miss the rest of Sunderland’s campaign
Dan Neil has been a regular in the first team throughout the season. Despite Sunderland’s drop in form, the midfielder has been one of the club’s best performers.
Neil has been widely praised of late and was hailed as the ‘best player on the pitch’ in the 0-0 draw against Leeds.
However, the Stadium of Light faithful will not be able to witness his talents on the field again this season.
Sunderland released a statement on Saturday confirming that Neil had sustained an ankle injury in training. As a result, he is set to miss the final three games.
The midfielder will now undergo rehabilitation throughout the summer and is expected to return in pre-season.
Sunderland’s season needs to come to an end
Every Sunderland fan will be waiting for this campaign to finally come to an end. Nothing has gone right over the past couple of months and Neil’s injury is just the icing on the cake.
With much excitement expected over the summer including the appointment of a new permanent manager, fans will be waiting for these last three games to quickly end.
Hopefully, no more injuries are sustained between now and the end of the season. A fit squad will be needed over pre-season and hopefully, many of the players currently on the sidelines will quickly return.