Sunderland squad hit by illness ahead of Wycombe clash

Posted Thursday, January 09, 2020 by PA

Sunderland boss Phil Parkinson is keeping his fingers crossed ahead of Saturday’s clash with League One leaders Wycombe after a bout of illness swept through the dressing room.

Defender Joel Lynch missed last week’s 3-1 victory over Lincoln as a result, while midfielder Luke O’Nien was absent from training during the early part of this week.

However Parkinson, who has no new major injury problems, is hopeful his options will not be limited significantly by the bug.

The Black Cats are working to re-shape their squad this month with midfielder Dylan McGeouch the first to depart when he joined Aberdeen this week.

Wycombe manager Gareth Ainsworth is hoping for a triple boost as he prepares his squad for the trip to the Stadium of Light.

Wanderers, who remain top of the table despite taking just one point from the last 12 on offer, hope to have Dominic Gape, Curtis Thompson and Jack Grimmer fit.

Gape has missed the last three games with a hamstring, but is back in contention along with fellow midfielder Thompson and defender Grimmer, who have been sidelined for one and five matches respectively.

Midfielder Fred Onyedinma, who has been out since the beginning of October, is also close to a return.