FRAIZER Campbell will become the second Sunderland player to go under the knife in 24 hours today as Steve Bruce faces up to the prospect of being without two of his big names for a chunk of next season.
Campbell will have an operation on his knee in London and if – as expected – the tendon needs to be repaired he is facing at least a year out of action.
With Craig Gordon ruled out for six months following surgery on his knee on Monday, it is merely the latest blow in an injury-ravaged season. As Bruce pointed out yesterday, six players have gone in for major surgery this term.
“Fraizer is going to be operated on tomorrow in London. It’s another one to add to the list,” he said. “That is six operations we’ve had this season, with Craig. We’re having a drastic time off the pitch.”
Bruce had hoped to have Scotland goalkeeper Gordon back for this weekend’s clash with Wigan but after seeing a specialist it was clear that was an unrealistic hope.
“We hoped we could nurse Craig through. That was still the hope after the weekend,” the Sunderland boss said.
“But we got a specialist to have another look at him, and once that happened, we had to revise the plans. Once we had another look at his knee, it was apparent that there were problems.
“He’s had a partial tear of one of the tendons and it had to be cleaned up. We had discussions with Craig, but it was pretty obvious that he was struggling. He’s had the operation, and hopefully he’ll be all right for pre-season.”
With injuries causing so many problems, Bruce has launched a full investigation into the reasons why such a large number of players have broken down this term.
That forensic search goes on but the Black Cats boss admits it is proving difficult to pin down a reason.
“We’ve analysed everything from training methods back to pre-season to try to understand why this has been happening.
“We can’t get to the bottom of it, but make no mistake, we’ll be trying our best to do everything to work out whether something has been going wrong. Six operations? I’ve never known anything like that. But that’s the way it’s happened.”
Those injuries have clearly had a serious impact on Sunderland’s attempts to clamber into the top ten and while Bruce does not want to be seen making excuses, he admits it has ripped the heart out of his team. Visit those same problems on any other squad, he argues, and the results would be similar. He said: “We had seven people in our first team squad – big players, four would play week in-week out arguably – who were not there. If I took seven out of Birmingham or Bolton or anywhere they’d struggle. They’re all saying Wolves have collapsed because they’ve lost one.”
Damage has been done, too, to Bruce’s reputation in the eyes of some fans. But he has pledged to weather the storm and emerge a better manager.
“When I came, I’d done ten years in the Premier League, so I think I have enough experience behind me,” he said.
“It’s tough, but I can take the criticism. For whatever reason, I seem to have been criticised wherever I’ve gone. It doesn’t really affect me, but it affects the people around me and I find it hard to watch them suffer.
“I don’t enjoy it, but I can accept it because it is now part and parcel of the job. There’s something in me, maybe it’s a sickness, that makes me say, ‘You know what, I can show them’. That’s all I can do.”
