Sunderland manager Phil Parkinson has revealed that the injury suffered by defender Bailey Wright in his side's 1-0 win at Oxford United on Saturday "does not look good".

Wright was forced off the pitch with just six minutes of normal time remaining at the Kassam Stadium, to be replaced by Alim Ozturk, and it seems the Australian could now be facing a spell in the treatment room rather than on the pitch.

Speaking about the injury suffered by Wright after the game, Parkinson told The Chronicle: “It doesn’t look good, that’s all I can say.

“Obviously it’s a bit early [to make an assessment] but it looks like quite a bad injury which is a blow, but Alim has come on and done well.”

Since joining the Black Cats on loan from Championship side Bristol City in the January transfer window, Wright has made four appearances for Parkinson's side, forcing Ozturk out of the starting lineup.

Parkinson however, appears to have no qualms about handing that place back to Ozturk while Wright is out of action, as the Sunderland boss continued: “Alim is unlucky to have been out of the team.

“We made the change at Tranmere but it was a tough call. Bailey has been excellent for us but if he is out for a period, Alim comes in and there’s no problem with that at all."

That injury to Wright was a low point for Sunderland in an otherwise positive day for the club, with that victory over Oxford moving them to within three points of the automatic promotion places at the top of the League One table.

The Verdict

This will certainly be a big miss for Sunderland.

Wright has certainly made an impact at the Stadium of Light since his arrival at the club, and you imagine they will not have wanted to lose his presence in their defence, particularly to what sounds as though it could be a long term issue.

You also have to feel somewhat for Wright as well with this injury, given he was finally starting to enjoy a run of games following a lack of opportunities at Bristol City in the first half of the season.

With that in mind, Sunderland will likely be thankful that they have a proven reliable replacement to step in for Wright in the form Ozturk for however long the Australian is out for, as they will not want to lose too much ground in the promotion race.