DENNIS CIRKIN has withdrawn from the England Under-21 squad, raising fears about his availability for Sunderland at the end of the international break.
Cirkin suffered a hamstring injury during the second half of the Black Cats’ weekend defeat at Coventry City that saw him hobble from the field to be replaced by Jenson Seelt.
The 22-year-old received his maiden call-up to the England Under-21 squad at the end of last week, and it had initially been hoped that his hamstring issue would be minor enough to enable him to link up with Lee Carsley’s squad.
However, that has not proved to be the case, and Cirkin has now been forced to pull out of England Under-21s forthcoming matches against France and Portugal.
Missing out on a possible international debut will be a major blow for the left-back, who has struggled with a succession of injury issues for the last couple of seasons.
READ MORE:
It is also a major worry for Sunderland, whose medical staff will now oversee a period of treatment and recuperation at the Academy of Light.
The Black Cats are already without Aji Alese, who has been ruled for the remainder of the season, and Leo Hjelde was also absent at Coventry at the weekend because of an injury issue of his own.
Hjelde’s problem is believed to be relatively minor, and the Norwegian should be available for the home game with Millwall that follows the international break. However, if Cirkin is missing for any significant period of time, that would still leave Sunderland with just Hjelde and Seelt, who was making his first appearance of the season last weekend after recovering from cruciate-ligament surgery, as their only natural options on the left of the back four.
A Sunderland statement confirming Cirkin’s forced withdrawal from international duty said: “Dennis Cirkin will no longer join up with England Under-21s after picking up an injury during Saturday’s game against Coventry City.
The defender, who had received his first call-up to Lee Carsley’s squad, was replaced in the second half and is now undergoing further assessments by the Club’s medical staff. Further updates will be provided in due course.”
