Sunderland manager David Moyes has confirmed that he expects to be without first-choice keeper Jordan Pickford for up to two months.
The England hopeful hurt his knee in a collision with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and teammate Papy Djilobodji in the 3-1 defeat to Manchester United on Boxing Day.
Despite continuing for the remainder of the game, it later emerged that the 22-year-old required a scan on the injury and faced the prospect of missing between eight and 10 weeks of action.
Speaking to reporters ahead of Sunderland's meeting with Burnley on New Year's Eve, Moyes said: "Jordan Pickford has good news and bad news. The good news is he hasn't ruptured his ACL, the bad news is he's strained it.
"We're looking at six to eight weeks. It's a major disappointment for him and for us because he's been saving us points."
Vito Mannone, first-choice stopper at the start of the campaign before Pickford's emergence, is now expected to take over goalkeeping duties.
Daniel Lewis
