Sunderland manager Phil Parkinson is hopeful that an injury update suffered by Lynden Gooch in Tuesday night's 5-0 win over Tranmere Rovers is not too serious.

Gooch netted Sunderland's third goal of the rout at The Stadium of Light five minutes before half time, but was then substituted early in the second half while in clear discomfort, although Parkinson was later able to provide a positive update on the attacker.

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Speaking after the game about Gooch's injury, the Black Cats boss was quoted by The Sunderland Echo as saying: “He’s twisted his ankle.

“The physio has just told me he doesn’t think it’s too serious but obviously he was unable to carry on."

Explaining the thinking behind playing things safe with Gooch, it seems the current situation with another Sunderland forward, Charlie Wyke, came into Parkinson's thoughts, as he continued: “We certainly weren’t going to take any risks with him because we lost Charlie [Wyke] at the weekend and we can’t afford to lose many more because we’ve got a lot of games coming up.”

Wyke is expected to be out for at least four weeks after suffering ankle ligament damage in the defeat at Wycombe on Saturday.

Sunderland's attack will at least be boosted for Saturday's trip to Shrewsbury by the return of the Aiden McGeady, after the Irishman was forced to sit out the Tranmere win through suspension, after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season at Wycombe.

The Verdict

This will be a relief for Sunderland.

That win over Tranmere feels like it has given a much-needed kick start to Parkinson's reign at The Stadium of Light, and they will not want to lose any of that momentum due to injuries.

With Wyke already set for a spell on the sidelines, that could have been particularly damaging had it been another attacker such as Gooch who had picked up a long-term injury.

Indeed, with Gooch himself potentially feeling he has staked a claim for a regular start with his goal against Tranmere after being dropped for the trip to Wycombe, he too will be especially relieved to hear that this doesn't look to be anything serious.