Tony Mowbray explains how Sunderland 'monster' injured him: 'He smashed into me!'

Tony Mowbray had a bandage wrist and thumb after Sunderland training, but how did it happen?

Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray says ‘monster’ Aji Alese was responsible for his injury at his pre-match press conference this week.

Mowbray spoke to the media with his left wrist and thumb bandaged, but in turns out that it was defender Aji Alese who was responsible for it.

"It was an attack-vs-defence phase game and I was refereeing,” Mowbray explained, “and as he backed off and missed the header he stumbled and I was standing behind him, [Aji Alese] smashed straight into me.

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“I was trying to hold him off as he came towards me and it's damaged my scaphoid bone, just inside the thumb.

"You don't really feel it until you try to pick something up, but then...! Thankfully, it's my left hand and not the right hand which I use for writing and whatnot."

Alese arrived as a relative unknown in the summer and took a while to get going under Alex Neil. Mowbray gave him his chance, though, and he repaid the former Blackburn boss with a string of outstanding performances before injury forced him out.

He is back fit again for the Millwall clash, though, and Mowbray has been talking up his talents.

"He's quite an unassuming character,” Mowbray said when asked to assess Alese. "Not shy, but he's quite quiet - not that you'd know it when he's on the pitch because he's a monster on the pitch, aggressive, he tackles and runs and heads. It's a big plus for us to have him back in the frame.

"When I came in, he was on the fringe really. He was one of those players that they'd signed, a young lad who hadn't really impacted West Ham but who had all the attributes.

“He's 6ft 3in, he's mobile, he's all right with the ball, he makes first contacts in the air really well. He's not a dominant header of the ball but he uses his full 6ft 3in and nicks the ball away a number of times, he's really effective."

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