REGIS LE BRIS has confirmed Enzo Le Fee has suffered a hamstring injury that could keep him on the sidelines for a sustained spell.
And to add to Sunderland’s growing injury woes, Dan Ballard has also suffered a hamstring issue that will have to be assessed in the next couple of days.
Le Fee failed to reappear for the second half of the Black Cats’ 1-0 home defeat to Hull City after complaining of pain in his hamstrings.
Ballard was forced off in the early stages of the second half after suffering a hamstring issue as he stretched to block a shot, and there are fears that both players could be sidelined for at least a few weeks.
That would place a major strain on Sunderland’s squad, with Le Bris admitting squad depth is already an issue in a number of areas.
“Enzo’s problem is probably with his hamstrings,” said the Black Cats boss. “We will have to see whether it is serious or not tomorrow. Dan Ballard has a similar issue.
“It is obviously disappointing, but I think the dynamic of the season is like that. You have players in, and players out. Romaine (Mundle) was in today, and that is good news, so we have to face up to these different challenges.
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“We have a small group. That can be a positive, because everyone is really involved, but at the same time, when we have injurie, we know that we can have a bit of a lack of depth in certain positions. That is just the characteristic of the squad this year. There are positives and negatives, we just have to try to manage things properly.”
The decisive moment in today’s game came in the 18th minute when Anthony Patterson fumbled the ball into his own net as he tried to deal with Joe Gelhardt’s inswinging corner.
Patterson was also at fault as Pascal Struijk headed home Leeds’ 95th-minute winner on Monday night, but Le Bris claims a goalkeeper’s errors are always magnified because they generally have serious consequences.
“When a goalkeeper or a striker makes a mistake, it always has big consequences,” he said. “It is a little bit different if you are a midfielder or a centre-back or a winger. You can miss your cross, and maybe it is a huge mistake, but the consequences are not the same. That is not the case if you are a goalkeeper or a forward, and you have to accept that.”
Nevertheless, the last three goals Sunderland have conceded have all come from set-pieces, a failing Le Bris is determined to get to the bottom of ahead of next Friday’s trip to Hillsborough to face Sheffield Wednesday.
“It was disappointing to concede like that,” said Le Bris. “In this kind of a game, silly mistakes can change many things. It happened, and for sure, we have to think about these mistakes because we have to improve our game.
“It is not like a coincidence now. I am not saying it is predictable, but at the same time, we have to ask some serious questions. At the same time, I think the energy of the group was okay. We tried, but it wasn’t enough to find a solution.”
