Young guns in for Black Cats
Steve Bruce believes he will field one of the youngest sides in Sunderland’s history at Birmingham tomorrow with injuries once again taking their toll.
Striker Fraizer Campbell is facing the possibility of a second operation to repair cruciate ligament damage, which would not only rule him out of the rest of the this season, but the bulk of the 2011-12 campaign as well.
Goalkeeper Craig Gordon will travel to Sweden to consult renowned knee specialist Professor Hakan Alfredson for a second time next Tuesday and will discover then if he too needs surgery.
Bruce fears Titus Bramble will not play again this term because of his knee cartilage problem, while Anton Ferdinand (hamstring), John Mensah (groin), Sulley Muntari (calf) and David Meyler (knee) are all out of tomorrow’s game.
Kieran Richardson (hamstring) is rated at 50-50, but England international Jordan Henderson is likely to be recalled and 19-year-olds Craig Lynch and Ryan Noble have been drafted into the squad.
Provisional squad: Mignolet, Gordon, Onuoha, Bardsley, Angeleri, Turner, Cattermole, Richardson, Riveros, Henderson, Malbranque, Elmohamady, Sessegnon, Zenden, Colback, Gyan, Welbeck, Noble, Knott, Adams, Lynch.
