Sunderland vs. Fulham: Cursed Black Cats suffer triple injury blow before Newcastle derby

Sunderland suffered no fewer than three injury blows before half time in their Premier League showdown with Fulham at the Stadium of Light on Sunday.

The Black Cats returned home on the back of a 1-0 win over Oxford United in last weekend's FA Cup fourth-round clash, which snapped a two-match losing run across all competitions.

Regis Le Bris's men had fallen to defeats against both Arsenal and Liverpool in their two Premier League games preceding the trip to Oxford, dropping into the bottom half of the top-flight table in the process.

The Black Cats were only supposed to be without Bertrand Traore and Reinildo Mandava for the clash with the Cottagers, as the two summer signings were already known to be sidelined with knee injuries.

However, Dennis Cirkin was ruled out before kickoff with a new hamstring problem, and although Le Bris stressed that the left-back's issue was not "too serious", a minor injury could sideline him for a couple of weeks.

Sunderland vs. Fulham: Nordi Mukiele, Jocelin Ta Bi forced off with injuries

Then, barely 10 minutes into Sunday's game, Cirkin's fellow full-back Nordi Mukiele went down of his own accord with a calf injury, which he tried to play through the pain of before calling it quits.

Lutsharel Geetruida came on to replace the Frenchman, who has made a positive impression at the Stadium of Light since his summer arrival, and any muscular issue raises fears of a spell on the sidelines.

To make matters worse for the Black Cats, winter arrival Jocelin Ta Bi - who was making his Premier League debut for Le Bris's side - was taken off towards the end of the first half with an unspecified injury and replaced by Romaine Mundle.

The exact nature of Ta Bi's problem is not clear, but Le Bris has now been dealt no fewer than three concerns, a few weeks before one of the biggest fixtures on the Sunderland calendar.

Sunderland suffer triple blow before Tyne-Wear derby

Sunderland's final Premier League match of the month comes at home to Bournemouth next Saturday lunchtime, a 12.30pm kickoff between two sides fighting for their right to finish in the top half of the table.

Leeds United (March 3) and Brighton & Hove Albion (March 14) then await for last season's Championship playoff winners, before the big one against Tyne-Wear rivals Newcastle United on March 22.

Whether any of Cirkin, Mukiele, Bi, Reinildo or Traore will return for the derby remains to be seen, but there is optimism over Traore being fit for Bournemouth, while Reinildo is targeting a return for the clash with Eddie Howe's side.

Meanwhile, the presence of Geertruida at least softens the Mukiele blow for Sunderland, who nearly lost the former to Liverpool on transfer deadline day before the deal fell through.