'Raring to go' - Mike Dodds expecting Sunderland Jack Clarke injury boost

Sunderland head coach Mike Dodds does not expect Jack Clarke's injury problem to keep him out for long.

Jack Clarke is ‘raring to go’ after missing Sunderland’s defeat to Swansea last week with injury, Mike Dodds has said.

Clarke has been the epitome of the ‘the best ability is availability’ philosophy since he joined Sunderland.

He missed one game last season, the 2-0 away win at Huddersfield and Saturday was the only game he had failed to feature in this season too.

Sunderland struggled to create without his ball-carrying skills but Dodds seems confident that the winger does not have a serious problem.

In fact, he was surprised that Clarke didn’t actually make the game given how rare it is for him to miss training, never mind actual matches.

"That’s what I’m being told," Dodds said when asked if it was still the plan to reassess Clarke’s injury on Monday. "He’s raring to go.

“He’s a robust boy. Since he came in he’s hardly missed any football. He never misses training, hence the reason why we thought he’d be available, but for whatever reason that hasn’t happened."

Sunderland have lost three games in a row to Huddersfield, Birmingham and Swansea and now face tough tests against Norwich, Leicester and Southampton. 

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