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Sunderland trio Ricky Alvarez, Sebastian Coates and Emanuele Giaccherini are all set for a spell on the sidelines.
Following the 3-1 win over Stoke City, Gus Poyet confirmed the injury status of all three players and it didn't look especially good. He said:
I cannot give you the medical report because it would be unfair on the doc and also because I might mess it up.
But it could be longer than a month - four to six weeks or longer.
Alvarez has a little pinch in the meniscus and Giaccy has the knock that he's got. The bone bruise is a bit stronger than we first thought.
It's a bit of a blow considering Alvarez and Giaccherini are players you'd expect to create and entertain, but the two week international break we are headed into now will at least give the players a bit of a head-start on their recovery.
Coates, meanwhile, arrived on deadline day from Liverpool as an essential addition to a defensive group light on numbers. However, Santiago Vergini's recent elevation to the status of undisputed footballing god has made that situation a little less perilous for now.
Ah well.
