Sunderland star suffers injury blow, his season is over
Adil Aouchiche’s future has been made clear as he prepares to return to Sunderland.
The 22-year-old has spent the second half of the season away from the Stadium of Light after joining fellow Championship side Portsmouth on loan in the January transfer window.
The move was done to give Aouchiche more game time to kick his career on after being deemed surplus to requirements by Regis Le Bris.
Instead of helping Sunderland in their quest for promotion to the Premier League, he has played a role in the relegation battle.
While it remains to be seen whether the Mackems will achieve their goal and win the playoffs, Pompey did successfully avoid dropping down to League One.
Adil Aouchiche’s future has been updated
The France Under-20 international was absent from Portsmouth’s 20-man squad on Saturday (26 April) to play against Sheffield Wednesday.
Sunderland supporters noticed his absence from the entire squad, which was a surprise to people, as John Mousinho made five changes to his team.
However, Aouchiche wasn’t dropped because of form, but instead it was due to an injury, as he wasn’t fit to play.
| 2024-25 Stats | Aouchiche |
| Appearances | 24 |
| Goals | 3 |
| Assists | 4 |
| Minutes Played | 1,361 |
The Sunderland loanee suffered a wrist injury during Pompey’s victory against Norwich on Good Friday, but Portsmouth fans had hoped he would still be able to feature again this season.
He did manage to play the following game against Watford, but Aouchiche had to be replaced at half time as his wrist problem was too serious.
Unfortunately, it appears that Aouchiche has kicked his last ball for Pompey as Mousinho provided a disappointing update about the severity of his problem.
During his post-match interview the Portsmouth boss said, “No, he has a fractured bone in his hand, we won’t see him again, there is no point in risking him.
“He’s not gone back, he’s been in getting his treatment here, we’ll see what happens next week.”
Sunderland will have to make a decision on Adil Aouchiche
The attacking midfielder will be returning to the Mackems at the end of the season as he prepares for the future, but he will continue receiving treatment at Fratton Park until that point.
Le Bris will have to make a decision about what he plans to do with Aouchiche moving forward on a permanent basis during the summer transfer window.
The Mackems could integrate him back into the team, as the Frenchman has proven his quality at this level, but Sunderland could also opt to cash in on him.