Sunderland have been dealt a frustrating blow, with the news emerging that Charlie Wyke is set for a spell on the sidelines with an ankle ligament injury. 

Sky Sports' Keith Downie revealed that the forward had torn his ankle ligaments in the defeat to Wycombe Wanderers at the weekend, which will keep him in the treatment room for 5-6 weeks.

Wyke has struggled for confidence in front of goal this season for Sunderland, and will be disappointed that he can't make a significant impact on their promotion bid heading towards the festive period.

The former Bradford striker only has one league goal so far this term, and he'll be hoping to make up for lost time when he returns from this injury.

Will Grigg replaced Wyke in the defeat to the Chairboys but was unable to make much of a difference for Phil Parkinson's side, as they slipped further behind in the race for promotion into the Championship.

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It's a similar story with Grigg in terms of goals this season, with the Northern Irishman still not having scored his first goal of the season in League One yet.

There are high-hopes for the 28-year-old this season as well, having scored 19 league goals in the 2017/18 season for Wigan Athletic when they won promotion into the Championship.

Sunderland will be hoping to pick up a much-needed three points at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday, when they host Tranmere Rovers in a game they'll be expected to come away with a win from.

The Verdict:

This is an irritating injury update for Sunderland.

Wyke hasn't been at his best this season, but given that Phil Parkinson started him in his first game in charge, it says that he would have been his first-choice striker.

He'll miss a number of key games which is far from ideal for Sunderland, but they'll be hoping that either Will Grigg or Marc McNulty can find their best form in front of goal and keep Parkinson's side in the hunt for promotion when Wyke does return to the first team fold.