Sunderland Echo

Who has played most minutes for Sunderland this season?

- By Joe Nicholson joe.nicholson1@nationalwo­rld.com

Sunderland have played 35 league games this season – while their young squad has started to look stretched in recent fixtures.

The Black Cats played seven matches in February and have looked jaded during three consecutiv­e defeats against Rotherham, Coventry and Stoke.

Sunderland head coach Tony Mowbray has tried to rotate his team at times, but has highlighte­d a lack of options in certain positions.

So which Sunderland players have featured the most this season?

Here’s how many minutes each Sunderland player has racked up in all competitio­ns so far this campaign:

Joe Anderson - 12 minutes - The 22-year-old has made just one senior appearance off the bench since joining Sunderland in January.

Isaac Lihadji - 20 minutes - Another January signing who made his Black Cats debut against Reading last month.

Chris Rigg - 21 minutes Still

just 15, Rigg made two appearance­s against Fulham in the FA Cup.

Pierre Ekwah - 104 minutes - After making a few appearance­s off the bench, the 21-year-old is pushing for his first senior start following his January arrival from West Ham.

Niall Huggins - 150 minutes - It’s been a long road back for the 22-year-old full-back who has made two senior appearance­s after a lengthy injury setback.

Alex Bass - 195 minutes - Following his summer arrival from Portsmouth, the 24-year-old has made two senior appearance­s in cup competitio­ns.

Jewison Bennette - 293 minutes - The 18-year-old has made 14 league appearance­s off the bench, with his only senior start coming against Shrewsbury in the FA Cup.

Joe Gelhardt - 536 minutes - Since joining Sunderland on loan from Leeds in January the forward has started seven consecutiv­e Championsh­ip fixtures.

Abdoullah Ba - 749 minutes - After joining the club on a long-term contract in the summer, the 19-year-old has made 19 Championsh­ip appearance­s.

Edouard Michut - 970 minutes - Michut, 20, had to wait until December to make his first Sunderland start but has featured consistent­ly since the turn of the year.

Ross Stewart - 1203 minutes - Two lengthy injury setbacks have hampered the striker’s season, while he’s still scored 11 goals in 15 appearance­s this campaign.

Elliot Embleton - 1248 minutes - There’s still a chance the 23-year-old could play this season after suffering an ankle fracture and significan­t ligament damage back in December.

Dennis Cirkin - 1600 minutes - It’s been a frustratin­g few months for the 20-yearold left-back who was sidelined with a hip injury, before suffering a concussion in the game at Millwall.

Trai Hume - 1627 minutes - Following his move to Sunderland in January 2022, Hume had to wait for his first-team opportunit­y.

The 20-year-old rightback has taken his chance after coming into the side at the end of last year.

Daniel Ballard - 1762 minutes - Since returning from a foot injury in December, the defender has made 15 consecutiv­e starts at centre-back.

Aji Alese - 1775 minutes - It’s been an encouragin­g first season for Alese following his summer move from West Ham, with the 22-yearold predominan­tly playing at left-back.

Lynden Gooch - 1790 minutes - A knee injury has meant Gooch has been unavailabl­e since January. He is expected to return to action this month.

Corry Evans - 1959 minutes - Sunderland’s captain started 24 of the side’s first 28 league games but was then ruled out for the rest of the season with an ACL

injury in January.

Alex Pritchard - 2102 minutes - The 29-year-old has recently returned from a calf injury after a spell on the sidelines at the start of this year.

Amad - 2350 minutes While it took a few weeks for the Manchester United loanee to get up to speed, he quickly became a first-team regular under Mowbray.

Patrick Roberts - 2329 minutes - Roberts wasn’t a regular starter at the beginning of this season, but has been played consistent­ly following Tony Mowbray’s arrival.

Luke O’Nien - 2813 minutes - Mowbray has said he sees the 28-year-old as a defender, yet O’Nien has still played in several different positions this season.

Dan Neil - 3112 minutes - Evans’ injury setback has meant youngster Neil has played in a slightly deeper role in recent weeks.

The 21-year-old midfielder has started 31 of Sunderland’s 35 league games this season.

Danny Batth - 3190 minutes - Despite missing a few games around the festive period due to a calf issue, the 32-year-old centre-back has started every league game when he’s been available this season.

Jack Clarke - 3228 minutes - The winger has only missed one league game this season when he was suspended for the game at Huddersfie­ld Town after picking up five yellow cards.

Anthony Patterson - 3647 minutes - Sunderland’s first-choice goalkeeper has started every Championsh­ip fixture and played both games against Fulham in the FA Cup, meaning he has been on the playing field longer than any other Sunderland player.

 ?? ?? Sunderland goalkeeper Anthony Patterson.
Sunderland goalkeeper Anthony Patterson.
 ?? ?? Jack Clarke celebrates a goal.
Jack Clarke celebrates a goal.
 ?? ??
 ?? ?? Amad Diallo has had a superb season for Sunderland so far.
Amad Diallo has had a superb season for Sunderland so far.
 ?? ?? Sunderland’s Danny Batth.
Sunderland’s Danny Batth.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom