Sunderland boss Alex Neil has revealed the reason that forward Ross Stewart missed the Black Cats' last pre-season friendly.

Stewart did not feature in the club's match against AS Roma earlier today, but it seems there is a plausible explanation.

The 26-year-old is suffering with a slight injury, the Black Cats boss revealed.

"Ross just wasn't quite ready for today's game." Neil said, via the Sunderland Echo.

“It's nothing too significant."

Sunderland fans will let out a sigh of relief that the reason for his omission from the team is not transfer related, given the transfer links surrounding the player in recent weeks.

The Scotsman has been heavily linked with a move away from the Stadium of Light this summer, with Scottish giants Rangers very keen on bringing him to Ibrox.

That interest comes as no surprise given Stewart's fine form down in League One last campaign.

The 26-year-old scored an impressive 24 goals for Sunderland as they reached the play-offs, as well as registering five assists.

Not content with that, Stewart added a further two goals for Sunderland in the Black Cats play-off campaign, one of which came in the final against Wycombe Wanderers at Wembley.

The Verdict

This will no doubt be a relief for Sunderland fans, as outlined above.

One thing that this does perhaps highlight, though, is the need for depth in the striking area at the Stadium of Light.

Stewart is the one of the only senior options in the striking department at present and were he to get injured, the club would be.

Alex Neil is aware they are short in this area, though, so hopefully there will be new arrivals in the department in the coming days and weeks.