Sunderland AFC: Regis Le Bris confirms big Tommy Watson blow | OneFootball

It'll be a while before we see the teenager in action again.

Sunderland winger Tommy Watson is set to be out for two months with an ankle and knee injury, Regis Le Bris has confirmed.

Supporters of the Black Cats feared the worst when Watson was forced off around 25 minutes into their midweek clash with Bristol City, after a challenge on the 18-year-old from Zak Vyner.

The winger attempted to get off a close range shot, but the City player got back in to make the tackle which subsequently caused Watson some pain. He attempted to play through it after receiving treatment from the Sunderland medical staff, but he ended up back on the deck, unable to continue, not long after.

Post-match, Le Bris did not know the extent of the 18-year-old's injury, but he admitted that Watson did have a problem. Now we know how bad the knock is, and how long he will be out for.

Regis Le Bris confirms tough Tommy Watson blow

Watson is set to miss the next two months due to the injury picked up against the Robins, Le Bris confirmed in his pre-Swansea City press conference.

This comes at a bad time for Sunderland, who have been dealing with fitness issues for a while now. They are now particularly short of natural options to deploy on the left-hand side of their attack as Romaine Mundle is also out of action. He picked up a hamstring injury against Coventry City, as did Alan Browne, and will be out until after the new year, as will Browne.

Just days prior to the now fateful blow that the winger received, Watson scored his first two goals for the first-team in a 2-1 win over Stoke City.

Patrick Roberts set up his second goal on Saturday afternoon. He was also the one to replace Watson when he got injured. The former Celtic and Manchester City winger then went on to net a late equaliser for the Black Cats.

Tommy Watson will be sorely missed by Sunderland

The teenager had only made a handful of starts for Sunderland before getting injured on Tuesday night, but they will be mightily hurt by his absence. Not just because of the depth he offers, but also his traits. His willingness to use his pace and be direct when up against defenders is something that the Black Cats may lack now.

It was a complete freak occurrence as well. It's not like a muscle injury that was coming down the road sooner or later. It was just a combination of bad factors which ended up with Watson being hurt, which may make it even more frustrating for the club given their lack of injury luck of late.

Sunderland need to start winning games again to re-establish themselves among the proper contenders for the top two. They can't allow Sheffield United or Leeds United to build too big of a gap too early on. Not having Watson available will make that a bit harder to achieve.