McShane facing surgery blow
20 Jul 2009 - 08:55:28
Sunderland's Republic of Ireland defender Paul McShane faces at least three months out of action after tests confirmed that he requires surgery on a knee injury.
The versatile 23-year-old was injured in the 4-0 friendly win over Darlington last Thursday and missed the Black Cats' training camp in Portugal as a result.
McShane is set to go under the knife this week, with manager Steve Bruce disappointed by the news.
He told the club's official website: "This news is exactly what we didn't want and now we will be without Paul for a while."
Better news came with the return to full training of goalkeeper Marton Fulop, who has recently been troubled by an Achilles problem.
However, the 26-year-old Hungarian was not fit enough to feature in the clash with Portuguese side Portimonense, which ended in a 1-0 victory for Sunderland, thanks to a Carlos Edwards strike.