Sunderland boss Jack Ross revealed that he didn't expect striker Charlie Wyke to play in the 2-0 win over Doncaster yesterday evening after he had been hit by illness.

The ex-Bradford man lead the line superbly for the Black Cats, dominating Rovers centre-backs with his strength and power.

He produced a man of the match display, expertly setting up Lewis Morgan for the opener with a clever knockdown before tapping home himself for the decisive second goal.

Yet, Ross told the Sunderland Echo that the 26-year-old was struggling before kick-off and was surprised he could feature after he was sick.

"He wasn’t feeling great before the game, he had a migraine and was sick in the changing room so I didn’t think he would play to be honest.

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"We had Kaz Sterling going out warming up, we thought we may have to make that change. He started to feel better. Naturally towards the end of the game he tired, I was delighted he produced that level of performance on the back of not feeling that great."

The result leaves Sunderland two points behind Barnsley in the race for automatic promotion with the north-east side still having a game in hand.

The Verdict

This shows how much it means for Wyke to be playing for Sunderland and the fans will be delighted to see that how willing he was to get out on the pitch.

They'll be glad he did too, as he bullied the Doncaster defence and was key to the victory.

That will do Wyke's confidence the world of good and he will want to make more big contributions before the end of the season.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.