Sunderland will be hoping to build on a hugely impressive start to this year's league campaign under the management of Phil Parkinson. 

The Black Cats are currently sat fifth in the League One table, and are unbeaten in their opening five matches of this year's campaign, as they look to make a timely return to the Championship this term.

Sunderland beat Swindon Town 2-0 in their last match at the weekend, and will heading into their next match full of confidence.

But there was a worrying sight in the win over the Robins, with Jordan Willis being forced off with a foot injury early on into the clash at the County Ground.

Speaking in a pre-match press conference (quotes sourced from the Sunderland Echo) ahead of their match against Crewe Alexandra, Phil Parkinson issued an injury update on Willis.

"Jordan has had an X-ray and there's no break, so that's good news.

"His foot is just badly bruised and it came up in a lump straightaway, so we were worried about it but it is not as bad as first feared."

"It was an impact injury, he was just caught by the Swindon lad's studs, and it's one of those things that happens in football. It's getting better by the day, and he will be assessed on Tuesday."

Parkinson went on to reveal that Denver Hume could be in line to return to action for the match against Crewe, before stating that Dion Sanderson isn't available for selection, with the Wolves loanee having a minor problem.

"Denver has a good chance of playing but we will assess him on Tuesday."

"Dion didn't do much training with Wolves last week because of a minor problem, so while he'll be in the squad tomorrow we might just need to use this week to integrate him into the group."

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The Verdict: 

This is a promising update from Parkinson.

Willis is a player that has been a regular in the Sunderland team since signing for the Black Cats, and Parkinson would have been fearing the worst when he was forced off early on against Swindon Town.

It's good to hear that he's being assessed ahead of their game against Crewe Alexandra as well, especially given that Tom Flanagan is out of action after picking up an injury whilst on international duty with Northern Ireland.

Hume's update is also a positive one, as he'd provide Parkinson with a welcome selection dilemma going forward.