Black Cats get Wickham injury boost

Steve Bruce has received a rare piece of good news after striker Connor Wickham was given an injury all-clear following his dramatic collapse at Old Trafford.

The 18-year-old was feared to have damaged ligaments when he went down in agony less than two minutes into seconds into last weekend's 1-0 Barclays Premier League defeat.

But a Sunderland statement today said: "Further investigations have shown that Connor Wickham has not suffered any serious damage to his knee.

"The player has embarked on a rehabilitation programme as he recovers from the injury.

"Wickham left the field at Old Trafford after just 90 seconds on Saturday and underwent scans on Monday."

The news means that the former Ipswich frontman is expected to be missing for weeks rather than months, and that represents a major boost for Bruce.

Had the teenager been sidelined for an extended period, that would have left his manager with just two fit strikers at his disposal, loan signing Nicklas Bendtner and summer arrival Ji Dong-won, with Asamoah Gyan out on loan in the United Arab Emirates and Fraizer Campbell still some distance away from his own return from a knee problem.