Sunderland manager Mike Dodds has revealed that central defender Dan Ballard has a hamstring problem.
The 24-year-old began for the Black Cats in their Championship match at Southampton on Saturday, but he and his teammates had a dreadful afternoon.
The Saints had stolen the initiative and an early lead in the game, capitalizing on a struggling Sunderland side to go 1-0 up in the ninth minute thanks to Stuart Armstrong.
Sunderland’s fate took a turn for the worse in the 37th minute, when Adam Armstrong converted a penalty to give Southampton a 2-0 half-time lead.
To Sunderland’s credit, and Mike Dodds’, the Black Cats rallied in the second half, getting back level thanks to two goals in ten minutes from Romaine Mundle and Jobe Bellingham just after the hour mark.
Things took a turn for the worst from there. In the same minute they equalised, Dan Ballard was forced off the pitch with injury, and in the final 20 or so minutes of the game, Southampton went on to score their third and fourth goals respectively, courtesy of a Joe Rothwell brace.
Mike Dodds confirms Dan Ballard injury
Naturally, after the final whistle, interim manager Dodds was questioned about Dan Ballard’s early exit from the pitch.
While he was unsure of the severity of the injury, Dodds confirmed more bad news for the Black Cats despite their poor run of results, revealing that the 24-year-old had suffered a hamstring injury.
“Dan tried to play on, but I don’t want to add fuel to the fire because I really don’t know,” Dodds told the Sunderland Echo.
“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.”
How long will Dan Ballard be out for?
Whilst a hamstring injury is never a good thing, whether or not it proves to be a minor or major hamstring injury will have Sunderland sweating.
Indeed, the difference between the two is stark, particularly in terms of recovery time.
According to the NHS, a minor hamstring pull or tear (grade 1) can take just a few days to heal, whereas a muscle tear (grade 2) hamstring injury can take weeks or months to recover from.
The Black Cats will certainly be hoping Ballard has only suffered the former and that he does not miss too much time.
The 24-year-old has been a relative mainstay in the Sunderland defence so far this season, clocking up 34 Championship appearances to date.
Sunderland’s next match is up against QPR next Saturday, but the Black Cats do not play Cardiff away until the 29th, by which point Ballard could be fit again providing his injury is not a major one.
Only time will tell on this one.
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