Habib Diarra injury update emerges after new Sunderland talks reveal surprise
Sunderland’s brilliant start to the season continued on Sunday as they earned a valuable point in their 1-1 draw with Aston Villa.
Reinildo’s first-half red card left Sunderland with a mountain to climb, especially after Aston Villa took the lead through Matty Cash.
Wilson Isidor came to Sunderland’s rescue at the Stadium of Light yet again, finishing from close range in the 75th minute.
One piece of bad news for Regis Le Bris was the pre-match injury to Habib Diarra.
Habib Diarra set to be out for a few weeks
Reports emerged before the Aston Villa match that Diarra would be unavailable, with Le Bris later confirming he had picked up a muscular injury.
Speaking on the Haway The Podcast on 22 September, Sunderland Echo journalist Phil Smith spoke about how long Diarra is expected to miss due to the muscular injury.
He said: “It happened in the last training session before the game, and from speaking to people today, the initial assessment is that he’s going to be out for a few weeks.
“I’d be surprised if he was back before the next international break.”
As a result, Diarra would miss:
- Nottingham Forest (a) – 27 September
- Man United (a) – 4 October
- Senegal’s matches vs South Sudan and Mauritania – 6 and 13 October
Diarra signed for Sunderland for £30m, a club record transfer fee, and the 21-year-old has impressed on the right-hand side of the Sunderland midfield, with Xhaka’s positioning allowing him to drive forward with the ball.
Chris Rigg should be given the chance to start
Rigg was given his first Premier League start by Le Bris, but was substituted as Sunderland had to reshuffle their formation following Reinildo’s sending off.
The 18-year-old looked visibly distraught, given the fact that he had looked at ease in the midfield.
Whilst Dan Neil and Enzo Le Fee are also options Sunderland can fall back on, Rigg was given the nod for the match against Aston Villa, and he should be given the chance to have more of an impact when Sunderland take on Nottingham Forest in their next match.
Rigg is one of the brightest prospects in English football, yet the only way for him to take his development to the next level is if Le Bris hands him more Premier League game time.
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