Replacing Corry Evans: What solutions can Sunderland consider?

How would you deal with Corry Evans' injury if you were Sunderland?

Sunderland have been dealt an injury blow with the news that captain Corry Evans will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury.

The midfielder injured his anterior cruciate ligament against Middlesbrough, and he must now sit out the remainder or the campaign, and possibly even the start of next season too.

If there is one saving grace it is that the injury happened in January, meaning there is still an opportunity to replace Evans by bringing in a new player.

That, though, is just one option. Let’s have a look at what Sunderland might do.

Bring in a replacement

This is the option that Tony Mowbray has already said Sunderland favour, and it is definitely the ideal solution.

The truth is that Evans has a major injury. He will definitely miss the rest of this season and there are far from any guarantees that he will be back for the start of next season either. Even then, after missing pre-season, how long would it take him to get up to speed?

Evans and his experience play a significant role and Sunderland on the pitch, where he is seen as a crucial part of an experienced spine around which the younger players can develop.

Sunderland may have to bite the bullet and find a replacement who can fill that void, even if they make an exception from the usual transfer policy of focusing on younger players to develop.

“We’ve had some initial conversations and have to wait and see how it impacts the other stuff we might be trying to do,” Mowbray said.

“We tried to bring in extra competition with Pierre and Edouard and now the news about Corry, does it change the dynamics? It’s not something we were thinning we needed and were pushing on with other areas of the pitch.

“We have a few days to potentially look at it and if something can be done we’ll wait and see. I don’t sit here thinking everything has stopped and we are now focusing on that.

Elevate Dan Neil

Evans has already missed games this season, of course. He had only played half of Sunderland’s six games since Christmas, in fact. In each of the ones he has missed, Dan Neil stepped into Evans’ usual deeper role and excelled.

There is no question that Neil has improved a lot from a defensive standpoint since last season and a sustained run in that role would likely only help him in the long run.

That said, there would also be mistakes as there is in any learning curve, and with Sunderland in with a chance of reaching the play-offs, is that a luxury the Black Cats can’t really afford right now?

I'm also not sure he's in a position to replace Evans' leadership yet either. 

Pierre Ekwah

On the face of it, Sunderland’s signing of Pierre Ekwah probably seems quite ideal in light of Evans’ injury.

The midfield ranks have just been boosted, so perhaps opportunity knocks immediately for the 21-year-old?

I haven’t seen anything of Ekwah, so I can’t really comment, but Mowbray has already ruled it out as an option. Evans’ role demands certain defensive instincts that the Frenchman apparently does not possess at this stage of his career.

“He doesn’t do what Corry does,” Mowbray said of Ekwah. “He doesn’t have discipline, sit behind the ball and break up counter attacks.

Sunderland AFC

“He is a footballer who wants to get on the ball, make passes, drive with the ball and run with the ball and get in and around the box.

“He’s a young boy and it’s very difficult to bring natural discipline that comes with 400 games in a career.

“With total respect for Pierre he’s not really a replacement for Corry and we brought him in to supplement midfield.”

Recall Jay Matete

Would Sunderland have let Jay Matete go out on loan had they known Evans was going to suffer such a bad injury? I suppose we’ll never know, but I suspect they would have, yes.

Matete was rarely used when Evans needed replacing when he was here, so it’s not like he was seen as an understudy anyway.

Regardless, Sunderland are not able to recall Matete from his loan spell with Plymouth even if they want to.

EFL rules state that clubs can only terminate a loan early after 28 days, so it’s just not an option.

Luke O’Nien

Sometimes you think that Luke O’Nien should be kept in a cabinet next to a tiny hammer and a sign that says ‘break in case of an injury crisis.’

Sunderland have no centre-backs? Luke O’Nien can do it. Ran out of left-backs? No bother, just stick Luke there. The only reason he didn’t play up front earlier this season was probably because there was a defensive injury crisis at the same time.

There is, though, a fair bit of sense in considering the O’Nien solution here. He is comfortable in midfield and definitely has the defensive instincts to replace those of Evans.

He maybe isn’t good enough on the ball to be an ideal solution, but he did very well in central midfield alongside Evans in the promotion run-in last season.

There may be evidence that Sunderland are considering that solution too. Bailey Wright looked likely to leave, but Portsmouth boss John Mousinho has now said Sunderland are keeping the Australian.

Is that to keep enough defensive cover to free O’Nien to step into the midfield? The timing might suggest Sunderland are keeping that option open.

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