HAVING stated his wish to “prove a point” to Blackburn Rovers upon joining Sunderland in the summer, Bradley Dack’s absence from Ewood Park tonight seems understandable.
While Tony Mowbray admits the Black Cats will miss the attacking midfielder, the Sunderland manager says Dack’s hamstring injury is “not a major concern,” adding that he doesn’t expect the 29-year-old to play every game this season after suffering two serious knee injuries last season.
“There was no intention of bringing Bradley in on the back of two cruciates and expecting him to play 40-odd games,” Mowbray explained.
“If we can get 25 games out of Bradley Dack this year, we’ll be more than happy.”
The hamstring ailment that has kept Dack out of tonight’s game is more of a “tweak” than a significant one. He could have played the game, according to Mowbray, but Sunderland would rather give the playmaker a couple of weeks of rest and rehab than risk exacerbating the problem.
“He’s played three games in a row,” Mowbray added. It’s fine for him to miss a couple of games before returning. Bradley is fine with it.
“He’s a loss for us because he’s a talented midfielder who can score goals, as he did against Southampton.” However, it is not a huge problem at the present.
“I’m sure he would have been desperate to play at Blackburn.” But he’s not going to participate. He’ll be disappointed, but he’ll accompany the team. Bradley is here to help some of the younger players understand the game better, to add his talent to the dressing room, and to improve the team as a whole.
“He would have liked to play against the team he played for for five years, but that’s not going to happen, which is fine because we’ll have plenty of opportunities to see Bradley do what he does throughout the season.”
While Sunderland prioritizes signing bright young players with high potential throughout the transfer window, Mowbray underlined the necessity of having adequate experience in his squad over the summer. And he leaped at the opportunity to sign Dack, a player he knows well from his time as manager of Blackburn Rovers.
“He’s a very good player, a very talented boy, a good human being who knows what’s right and wrong,” Mowbray added.
“He’s a seasoned pro who can assist players.” One of the key reasons for bringing him in is that if we’re going to mix our young squad with veteran players, Bradley Dack is a good role model who has a reasonably big profile, but when you work with him, he’s a lot of fun.
“I had no reservations about including Bradley in our group because I know he’s a good guy who will help others.” Everyone gains if he can help the young midfielders and strikers improve and grow.
“All Bradley wants to do is come and play football.” He hasn’t suffered any serious injuries. We could definitely play him, but I believe it would exacerbate the problem, which we are attempting to resolve.”
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