Catalogue of injury woe

STATS PROVE SUNDERLAND SURVIVAL BID HAMSTRUNG BY WORST INJURY RECORD

RELEGATED Sunderland had the worst injury record in the Premier League last season – fatally undermining their bid to dodge the drop.

The Black Cats suffered a catalogue of injuries which began in preseason and ran all the way through to the end of the season.

Boss David Moyes found his squad reduced to the bare bones on numerous occasions and had to draft in a number of youngsters from the under-23 side to name a full complement of substitutes.

Statistics compiled by Premier Injuries, which tracks injury data for top-flight clubs, have laid bare the full extent of Sunderland’s problems.

They show the Wearsiders suffered 47 significant injuries – defined as those which kept a player out of action for a minimum of 10 days – which is the highest total in the top flight.

Those absences added up to a league-high total of 1,813 days lost due to injury.

Sunderland’s statistics are more than one-and-a-half times worse than the Premier League average of 31 significant injuries, and 1,029 days lost.

According to estimated salary data from sportingintelligence.com, those injuries meant te Black Cats paid out around £9.3m in wages to players while they were out of action.

Among Sunderland’s casualties this season were youngsters Duncan Watmore and Paddy McNair, both of whom suffered season-ending cruciate ligament injury problems within a fortnight of each other in late November/early December.

Other players who were sidelined for months on end included Seb Larsson, goalkeeper Vito Mannone, Fabio Borini, Jan Kirchhoff, Lee Cattermole, Victor Anichebe, Lynden Gooch, and Steven Pienaar.

Shotstopper Jordan Pickford and midfielder Jack Rodwell also had spells on the sidelines.

West Ham’s record was almost as bad as that of Sunderland, with 46 significant injuries and 1,737 days lost.

Watford ranked third with 44 significant injuries and 1,493 days lost.

West Bromwich Albion had the best record with only 14 significant injuries all season and just 319 days lost.