McNair adds to Black Cats woes

Sunderland have suffered another major blow to their hopes of Premier League survival, with Paddy McNair set to miss the rest of the season due to a knee injury.  The 21-year-old Northern Ireland international, who can play in either defence or midfield, only joined the Black Cats from Manchester United in August and made 12 appearances before being struck down by injury.

McNair sustained the problem late on in the 3-0 home win over Hull City last weekend and subsequent tests have revealed that the setback is a serious one.

A short statement on the official Sunderland website confirmed: “Paddy McNair has been ruled out of action after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament (and) faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines.”

The loss of McNair comes a matter of days after Black Cats skipper Lee Cattermole was ruled out for around four months, having flown to the United States and undergone surgery on a long-standing hip problem.

Black Cats boss David Moyes, who has seen Cattermole restricted to just three appearances so far this season, confirmed that the problem had finally been identified as a torn cartilage.

He added: “Its a big blow, because we have had hernias, we have had epidurals, we have had other things done but, by all accounts, we have found a tear in his cartilage in his hip which has now been repaired.”

Sunderland are back in action on Saturday afternoon when they head to Anfield to face an in-form Liverpool outfit who are second in the Premier League table.

The Wearsiders have claimed draws on each of their last two league visits to Anfield and are 13/2 to do so again on Saturday, with Sunderland 16/1 to secure a 1-1 draw and 40/1 to claim a 1-0 victory.

s the rest of the season due to a knee injury.