Sunderland vs West Ham injuries update: Romaine Mundle one of six definitely out
Sunderland are set to be missing crucial players like Romaine Mundle for their Premier League opener against West Ham United.
Fortunately, Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and Co. have been more than active in the transfer window to make up for this as Regis Le Bris‘ new-look side aim to pick up a positive result in their opening fixture.
With West Ham being one of those teams that will likely be around the bottom of the league come May, Sunderland must aim to win these sorts of games, especially when they are at the Stadium of Light.
Multiple others, alongside Mundle, are set to miss Sunderland’s clash with the Hammers as Le Bris has some dilemmas on his hands when it comes to selecting his starting XI.
Sunderland suffering from injuries ahead of West Ham clash
Although pundits like Ian Wright are sceptical of their chances against West Ham, Sunderland will enter the game full of optimism, with it being their first game in the top-flight for eight years.
Ahead of the eagerly anticipated matchup in the North East, Sunderland will be without:
- Romaine Mundle
- Dennis Cirkin
- Leo Fuhr Hjelde
- Ajibola Afolarin Alese
West Ham are not without injury issues of their own, and Graham Potter will be without:
- Crysencio Summerville
- George Earthy
Whilst the likes of Hjelde and Alese being out are not catastrophic blows, Cirkin and Mundle will be players that Le Bris will be hoping to have back sooner rather than later.
Le Bris reinforces importance of competition for places
When Mundle returns from injury, for example, there is no guarantee that he just instantly slots back into the side.
With the likes of Chemsdine Talbi potentially able to fully establish himself in the starting XI in one of the wide positions, whilst the Englishman is out injured, Sunderland have created fierce competition for places with their spending over the summer.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Le Bris feels that the 11 new players they have brought is something that brings more positives than negatives with it.
“It was important to challenge the squad,” the Sunderland boss said.
“The players are connected with the competition. The way they work, they need the taste of competition. When you are far off, the fire is not the same.”
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