Sunderland's injury troubles have worsened. As well as no manager and no forwards, we now have no defenders either.
BALLARD BLOW
Dan Ballard suffered a hamstring injury in Sunderland's defeat at Southampton. Whilst the full extent of the defender's injury is not yet public knowledge, supporters will be desperately hoping for good news. The 24-year-old tried to play on against the Saints but soon realised he wouldn't be able to complete the 90 minutes.
After the match, Mike Dodds said: "He's come off with a hamstring injury, which isn't great. I don't want to comment at the moment whether it is minor or major because he'll come in and be assessed on Monday. He's strapped at the moment and he's OK within himself at the moment, he's not overly panicked but we'll have to see. We'll just have to wait and see."
Luke O'Nien is serving a two-game suspension which means he misses Sunderland's home game against QPR on Saturday. With Nectarios Triantis and Zak Johnson both out on loan, that leaves Jenson Seelt as the only proper centre half remaining. Oh, wait...
SEELT ALSO OUT
Just when our injury luck couldn't get any worse, Jenson Seelt has confirmed that he will face a "long period of time" on the sidelines. Seelt suffered a knee injury against Southampton after starting Sunderland's last four games, and while the exact details of his injury are yet to be confirmed, it looks like that could be his season over.
The Dutchman took to social media to "I'm gutted to share the news that I suffered a knee injury during the game against Southampton. This has taken me by surprise and I will be out for a long period of time. For now, I need to focus on my recovery and do everything in my power to come back better and stronger than ever. In all difficulties during life there are lessons and things to turn into positivity."
With injuries and suspensions mounting, it looks like the following is the most likely backline for Saturday's match: Pembele, Hume, Hjelde, Styles.
