Sunderland manager Lee Johnson has revealed that Corry Evans suffered a thigh injury in the warm-up ahead of the club's clash with Cambridge United on Saturday.

The Northern Ireland international was replaced in the Black Cats' starting eleven by Lynden Gooch after picking up this particular issue.

In Evans' absence, Sunderland secured a much-needed victory at the Abbey Stadium.

The Black Cats opened the scoring in the 15th minute as Alex Pritchard's corner was diverted into his own net by Cambridge goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov.

Undeterred by this setback, the hosts levelled proceedings in the 27th minute via a strike from Sam Smith.

Sunderland regained the lead in spectacular fashion as Nathan Broadhead fired an unstoppable strike into the top corner.

Following the break, Cambridge pushed for an equaliser as Adam May, James Brophy and Joe Ironside all went close to scoring.

Sunderland managed to show a great deal of resilience during the closing stages of the clash as they held on to seal all three points.

As a result of their 2-1 victory over Cambridge, the Black Cats moved up to fifth in the League One standings.

After the clash, Johnson shared an injury update on Evans.

Speaking to the Sunderland Echo about the midfielder, Johnson said: "He just felt his thigh [in the warm-up].

"Even more credit to the lads. Gooch came in at right wing-back and was outstanding, absolutely outstanding.

"We're going down like flies and it's tough to take, because we've got a lot of tough games."

The Verdict

When you consider that Aiden McGeady and Luke O'Nien are both set to be out of action for the foreseeable future due to their respective injuries, Johnson will be hoping that Evans' issue is not too serious.

The midfielder has managed to illustrate some encouraging signs for Sunderland in the 11 league games that he has played for the club this season.

Particularly impressive during the Black Cats' 5-0 victory over Cheltenham Town in September, Evans provided an assist in that match as he recorded a WhoScored match rating of 7.85.

If Evans is unavailable for Sunderland's meeting with Oxford United in League One next weekend, Johnson will need to turn to the likes of Dan Neil and Gooch for inspiration again in this fixture.