Sunderland suffer ANOTHER defensive injury blow as Alex Neil discusses replacing Dan Ballard in the transfer market

Dan Ballard will be absent for the foreseeable future after suffering a fractured foot, and though Neil is not at this stage willing to put a timeframe on it publicly it is expected that he will likely be out for at least two months.

That leaves Neil short of cover on the right of the back three he is currently operating with, as Ballard excelled in that role at the start of the season.