Sunderland confirm Dennis Cirkin injury blow - but there is a silver lining...

Dennis Cirkin has had surgery to correct his hamstring problem, and that means a mixed bag of news for Sunderland.

Sunderland may have to do without defender Dennis Cirkin for the rest of the season after he underwent surgery on a hamstring injury.

Cirkin has not started for Sunderland since the 5-0 win over Southampton in early September and he has not featured at all in the last 11 games.

That has been down to the same injury, one that reoccurred in the warm-up when he was due to start against Birmingham City in November.

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He may now struggle to play again this season, meaning Sunderland may be forced into a move for a left-back this month.

They started the season well-stocked in that position with Cirkin, Naill Huggins and Aji Alese, but only the latter is now available - and he has only featured in three games since April due to his own injury problems.

Huggins has also undergone knee surgery, the club have confirmed, and Patrick Roberts will be out for the rest of January with the calf injury he picked up at Rotherham.

A silver lining to Cirkin injury for Sunderland?

While Dennis Cirkin’s injury is far from ideal, in the long run it may work out in Sunderland’s favour.

When Cirkin signed from Tottenham in 2021, there was almost a feeling at both clubs that it was little more than a glorified long-term loan. That’s why a relatively low buy-back clause was inserted into the deal, giving Spurs the ability to get him back for just £6million.

However, that clause could only be active for as long as Cirkin’s initial contract term. No one knew if he would extend his deal, so Spurs essentially had five transfer windows – two and a half years – to activate the buy-back.

The current transfer window is the last of those windows. Spurs are unlikely to buy an injured player, especially one with essentially just one season at Championship level under his belt, so the buy-back clause should quietly expire.

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