Gooch faces fitness test, but other stars not ready to return
LYNDEN Gooch will have a fitness test today before Lee Johnson picks his side to face Rochdale at the Stadium of Light.
Gooch was forced off with a calf problem just after the hour in Sunderland’s 1-0 midweek win against Swindon Town.
Johnson said a scan has come back clear,and that could mean Gooch was only suffering from cramp - in which case he would be fit to face Dale.
“Goochy will have a fitness test tomorrow morning,” said Johnson yesterday.
“He felt something in his calf and that’s why he went down.
“Brilliant news on the scan, no mus- cle damage, which probably means it was either a compressed nerve or it was cramp - we’re not sure yet.
“If it’s a compressed nerve it might take a bit longer but if it was cramp then we will find out tomorrow because he will be fine for the fitness test.”
Johnson also gave an update on midfielder Grant Leadbitter, who dislocated his shoulder in last weekend’s 2-2 draw at Crewe Alexandra.
Leadbitter went to see a specialist this week and the advice was that the injury was ‘manageable’, meaning he will be back shortly although there is a risk of a recurrence which would then require surgery. Johnson said: “Grant’s shoulder is good. He went to see a specialist and the information we got back was that there had been major trauma to everything in his shoulder. “However, it is a manageable situation with the right strapping, the right conditions.
“There is a risk it might pop out again but I think Grant is probably willing to take that risk, maybe not necessarily over the short term but over the medium term as he feels stronger and he feels a bit more comfortable.
“He looked like an American footballer today because he had lots of nice, thick, padding on!
“The situation is there is a 50% chance the shoulder will pop out again and, if it does, it will require surgery.
“At the moment there are protective measures we can use to aid healing, and mitigate the chances of it popping out again.”
While Leadbitter will not feature
against Rochdale, he has not at this stage been ruled out of the EFL Trophy final a week on Sunday.
“I’m not sure but I’m not ruling him out,” said Johnson when asked if the 35-year-old could play at Wembley.
“If you look at him move you’d say yes 100% he could play.
“It’s not that, it’s the contact, falling over, what have you.
“He was out there today but it was only a passing drill, no contact.
“It would depend how he feels and he’s a sensible player, he won’t chase it if he is not ready – he knows we are still competing on two fronts.”
Northern Ireland defender Conor McLaughlin is another who will sit out the Rochdale game as he recovers from an injection he received to ease lingering pain following a hernia operation.
He is due back in training early next week - although his involvement in Tuesday’s trip to Portsmouth hangs in the balance.
Johnson said: “Conor had an injection and it’s settled well.
“There’s a risk of rupture if he comes back too quickly - and when I say too quickly, I mean 48 hours or 36 hours, not massive timescales.
“I reckon he could train on Monday or, if not, Wednesday.
“Portsmouth might come too soon or it might not.”
Bailey Wright (calf ), Tom Flanagan (hip flexor), Ross Stewart and Denver Hume (both hamstring) are all improving, although they are not yet ready to play.
Johnson said: “Denver was out on the grass. It’s positive news and his speed of recovery has been quite surprising.
“He did the warm-up and he was part of the passing drill today.
“He did some one-vs-ones with Ross Stewart and then joined in with work on patterns of play towards the end of training.
“Denver has had a long injury layoff throughout the whole time I’ve been here because he did it in the first 20 minutes of my first game.
“You need to tick the boxes and there are steps you need to take before you are ready for a first-team game, particularly with the kind of hamstring problem he has had.
“He’s been in controlled training, though, and he is moving well and feeling good, so that means we can now step it up.
“You’d want a player like that to get a couple of full 90 minutes, or maybe 45s for the under-23s before even considering a first-team return.
“Ross was in training today so he looks a little bit closer.
“His hamstring problem was different to Denver’s, a lot lower-grade, so he can progress quicker through those boxes which need to be ticked.
“Bailey isn’t a million miles away. He has a calf injury so this threeweek stage is really important.
“You have to let it heal and the wound close off.
“Tom is starting to look that little bit stronger. He had a deferred hip flexor problem but he was out there again today.
“Once fit he shouldn’t be too long, he shouldn’t need much rehabilitation,