Tony Mowbray gives Dennis Cirkin injury update and admits to 'frustration'

What is the latest on defender Dennis Cirkin after he appears to suffer fresh injury blow?

Dennis Cirkin was a late withdrawal from the Sunderland side to face Birmingham due to a hamstring problem, says Tony Mowbray.

Cirkin has endured a tough start to the season with injuries, and he was set to make his return to the line-up in the lunchtime clash with Wayne Rooney’s Blues.

However, it was Nectarios Triantis who instead started the game with Cirkin nowhere to be seen after the former Spurs man ‘felt’ his hamstring in the warm-up.

The decision was then taken not to take any risks and there is a hope that it will not be a serious issue for Cirkin, but more will be known after a scan on Sunday.

"Ultimately it's his hamstring," Mowbray explained after the 3-1 win.

"He trained yesterday and said that he felt it after training. When he woke up this morning it felt fine, good - so we decided to push on.

"He then went and did the warm-up and said he could feel it again, so we didn't want to risk it again. He'll go and have a scan tomorrow and we'll see what it is. It's obviously frustrating for us but great for Nectar.”

Triantis certainly took his chance, and he was heavily involved in Sunderland’s second goal, although it did ultimately go down as a Dion Sanderson own goal.

• READ NEXT: Tony Mowbray heaps praise on Nectarios Triantis after 'chucking him in' at the deep end

The good news for Cirkin is that there is now a two-week break for international fixtures, so there would be no immediate pressure to return.

Sunderland are next in action on November 25 when they make the long trip to Plymouth, followed by a home match against Huddersfield four days later. 

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