Sunderland received further bad news amid their poor Championship form on Saturday.

Sunderland manager Mike Dodds has revealed that central defender Dan Ballard has a hamstring problem.

The 24-year-old began for the Black Cats in their Championship match at Southampton on Saturday, but he and his teammates had a dreadful afternoon.
The Saints had stolen the initiative and an early lead in the game, capitalizing on a struggling Sunderland side to go 1-0 up in the ninth minute thanks to Stuart Armstrong.

Sunderland’s fate took a turn for the worse in the 37th minute, when Adam Armstrong converted a penalty to give Southampton a 2-0 half-time lead.

Sunderland recovered in the second half, with Romaine Mundle and Jobe Bellingham scoring twice in ten minutes soon after the hour mark.

The situation deteriorated from there. Dan Ballard was forced off the play with an injury in the same minute they equalized, and Southampton scored their third and fourth goals, respectively, in the closing 20 minutes of the game, thanks to a Joe Rothwell brace.

Mike Dodds confirms Dan Ballard injury

Naturally, after the final whistle, interim manager Dodds was questioned about Dan Ballard’s early exit from the pitch.

While he was unsure of the severity of the injury, Dodds confirmed more bad news for the Black Cats despite their poor run of results, revealing that the 24-year-old had suffered a hamstring injury.

“Dan tried to play on, but I don’t want to add fuel to the fire because I really don’t know,” Dodds told the Sunderland Echo.

“He came off with a hamstring injury, which isn’t ideal.

“I don’t want to comment on whether it’s small or major because he’ll be assessed on Monday.

“He’s strapped in at the moment, and he’s calm inside himself; he’s not terribly concerned, but we’ll see. “We’ll have to wait and see.”

How long will Dan Ballard be out for?

While a hamstring injury is never ideal, whether it is slight or significant, Sunderland will be sweating.

The difference between the two is significant, especially in terms of recuperation time.

A modest hamstring strain or tear (grade 1) might heal in a matter of days, however a muscular tear (grade 2) can take weeks or months to recover from.

The Black Cats would undoubtedly hope Ballard has only experienced the former and does not miss too much time.

The 24-year-old has been a regular in Sunderland’s defence this season, making 34 Championship games.

Sunderland’s next encounter is against QPR next Saturday, although the Black Cats don’t play Cardiff away until the 29th, when Ballard might be fit again provided his injury isn’t serious.

Only time will tell with this one.