Romaine Mundle has been a key player for Sunderland so far this season.
The Black Cats are sitting confidently at the summit of the championship following a strong start to the season.
However, Mundle went off with an injury late on in Sunderland’s last Championship clash.
The latest from the winger will be enough to create a bit of panic among the Sunderland fans.
Mundle’s whereabouts will worry Sunderland fans
A common trend among football clubs now is the posting of training photos, sometimes to show a formerly injured player back out on the pitch and sometimes just to give a behind-the-scenes peak of the daily work at the club.
Fans, particularly of well-supported clubs like Sunderland, are eagle-eyed and will often spot clues in the background of as-yet-unannounced returnees and, around transfer windows, potential new players—something clubs are now wise to.
But it also works the other way, when players with availability concerns are not pictured, creating suspicion about whether they’ll be in contention for the next game.
The Black Cats set about posting some training photos earlier today (14 November) via their official Twitter account and Mundle was not among the group.
Ordinarily, you could perhaps put this down to the 21-year-old being in the gym or doing some other form of non-contact training if he’s not in top condition, but around the same time, Mundle posted a photo to his Instagram story, seemingly showing him abroad at a beach-club style venue.
The similar timing of the posts from the official club account and Mundle will undoubtedly lead to some speculation over the availability of the winger and the injury he’s sustained.
The Black Cats boss has made it clear that Ballard remains a key member of the squad upon his return from injury.
Mundle would be a big miss
The winger has had a strong start to the season, filling in the left-wing berth vacated by Jack Clarke in the summer well.
In 15 appearances, 12 from the start, Mundle has already managed four goals and two assists in the Championship and has been a key element of the Black Cats’ strong start.
That was perfectly illustrated in his most recent performance, creating the most chances of any player on the pitch, being awarded Man of the Match on FotMob and getting two assists, before being withdrawn in the 76th minute with an injury.
| Mundle in the Championship this season, as per WhoScored | |
|---|---|
| Starts (Sub) | 12 (3) |
| Goals | 4 |
| Assists | 2 |
| Dribbles per 90 | 1.8 |
| Key passes per 90 | 1.2 |
| Pass success rate | 83.7% |
Manager Regis Le Bris said after the game that he wasn’t sure how bad the injury was likely to be.
Fans of Sunderland will understandably be keen to find out his condition and whether he’s going to face a spell on the sidelines.
Not having a game until Milwall on November 23 will hopefully give Mundle enough recovery time, but this latest sequence of events is bound to cause fear.
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Among the club’s social media posts was one ray of light in the return of Aji Alese to training.
The left-back has not appeared for the Stadium of Light outfit since their 1-0 over Burnley at the end of August.
Soon after that result, he picked up an ankle injury in training before being handed a return date between late November and early December.
His return to training now suggests he could be on track.
The speculation around Mundle’s condition will no doubt be unsettling for a Sunderland side showing real promise of contending for promotion, but the return of Alese will at least provide some comfort in the meantime.
