Jordan Henderson to get a chance to shine

Oct 20 2009 by Stuart Rayner, The Journal

WITH Lee Cattermole set for up to three months on the sidelines Steve Bruce believes he has an ideal replacement in Jordan Henderson.

The 19-year-old from Sunderland is not yet a star name at his hometown club but Bruce sees him as “everything you could hope for in a midfielder”. And with summer signing Cattermole suffering medial knee ligament damage at the weekend, his faith will be put to the test for the remainder of the year.

Even at this early stage of the season, striker Kenwyne Jones is the only Black Cats player to have featured in every game – although that run is in jeopardy at the weekend despite the injury he was stretchered off with against Liverpool proving far less serious than was first feared.

Henderson, though, has only been involved in one less, having been an unused substitute against Hull City.

“Jordan is only 19, but he’s played in every game we’ve played (apart from the Hull win),” Bruce said. “He’s got a fantastic future, the kid.

“He’s everything you could hope for in a midfield player and he will mature.

“If you’re good enough, you’re old enough and he’s definitely good enough. He’s just got to make sure he keeps his feet on the ground.” Bruce regards Henderson as his club’s find of the summer after inheriting him from the Black Cats’ academy.

It was telling that when left-back George McCartney complained of feeling unwell at half-time of Saturday’s 1-0 win over Liverpool it was the teenager, rather than the two specialist defenders on his bench, Bruce opted for.

The Corbridge-born manager cited Nyron Nosworthy’s lack of match fitness and Paulo Da Silva’s late arrival from Paraguay as the main reasons he pushed captain Lorik Cana into the heart of the defence and moved Anton Ferdinand to left-back.