Sunderland manager Phil Parkinson says he does not yet know the extent of the injury suffered by Alim Ozturk in his side's defeat to Leicester's Under 21s in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday night, but admits that he is 'really disappointed' for the defender.

Ozturk had been handed his first start since the 17th September at The Stadium of Light on Tuesday night, but was forced off just 36 minutes into the game, as the Foxes young side came from a goal down to take all three points, leaving Sunderland needing to win away at Scunthorpe next Tuesday to progress from the group stages of the competition.

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Speaking about the injury to Ozturk after the game, Parkinson was quoted by The Sunderland Echo as saying: "I'm really disappointed for him.

“He's had a full week's training and it is disappointing. I don't know the extent of it yet.

“I just know that it's his hamstring and I'll find out later.”

Ozturk was one of eight changes made by Parkinson from their league win over Southend on Saturday.

It seems that with an FA Cup clash against third-tier rivals Gillingham to come at the weekend before that clash with Scunthorpe, the Sunderland boss will take that rotational approach again in order to help plan for the January transfer window, as he continued: “I picked a team that was very open and we got exposed at times.

“Two or three are very low in terms of match fitness and that probably showed.

“We’ve got to kind of accept that. We played Alim (Ozturk) and he’s come off injured, (Laurens) De Bock, who was playing his first game for a few weeks after being injured, and (Dylan) McGeouch hasn’t played for a while as well.

“I don't think tonight's result will affect Saturday, we had a team in mind for that anyway.

“The bigger picture for us is that in this Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday period is to look at everybody so we can build up a picture for January and that is the key for us really.”

Following those cup clashes with Gillingham and Scunthorpe, Sunderland will return to league action a week on Saturday, when they travel to the Memorial Stadium to take on Bristol Rovers.

The Verdict

This certainly looks to be a frustrating situation for Sunderland.

With Parkinson evidently keen to rotate his side over the coming weeks and months, the absence of Ozturk now means they have one less player with which to do that.

That means there will be more pressure on those who have to fill in for him, although that could have the added effect of identifying that defensive area as being something to target for improvement during the January transfer window, meaning there could be one positive to come from this.

You also have to feel for Ozturk too here, given he has lost his opportunity to stake a claim for a starting place in the side on a more regular basis, and he will surely be keen to return to action as soon as possible, in order to ensure he doesn't fall too far down the pecking order.