Sunderland youngster suffers ‘significant’ knee injury in Premier League 2 clash
Sunderland youth forward Jake Waters has sustained a “significant” knee injury and
faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines
The boyhood Sunderland fan suffered the knee injury in the Premier League 2 clash with Liverpool on Monday [2 September].
The 18-year-old has not long recovered from an 18-month lay-off from a similar injury and will now face another spell on the treatment table at the Academy of Light.
Sunderland confirmed the “significant” aspect of the injury on their official website [6 September], with manager Robin Nicholls adding: “It is a really unfortunate injury for Jake.
“Having completed his previous period of rehab to an excellent standard and application, the timing of this one will be a blow to him.
“However, knowing Jake’s character, he’ll face this challenge head-on and come back stronger once again. We firmly believe in Jake and will support him throughout the rehabilitation journey.”
Jake Waters faces long road to recovery at Sunderland
It seems that the situation has gone from bad to worse for the Black Cats as the side will be
without their newly promoted talisman for potentially the rest of the campaign.
Waters earned his place in the U21 side after an impressive 2022/23 season in the U18 Premier League with a return of 13 goals and five assists in 24 appearances, despite Sunderland finishing at the bottom of the Northern table.
Robin Nichols now faces an anxious wait on whether the forward will even be able to return to professional football following his latest injury setback. The odds are stacked against Waters with two long-term injuries at such a young age.
The Black Cats have also made a solid start to the season with four points from their opening
three matches and look set to improve on last season’s seventh-place finish, only four points
behind Fulham in third.
This is a huge blow for everyone involved at Sunderland. It is never a nice sight to see any
young player endure such torrid luck with injuries and even more so a boyhood fan of the club.
It is now up to the medical team to assess the situation and do all they can to ensure that
Waters can not only return to the pitch but continue his development with the Black Cats.
In other Sunderland news, Dan Neil has made a one-word admission on Jack Clarke’s summer departure.
For more Sunderland news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.