Sunderland are not conceding defeat when it comes to Jayden Danns playing a part this season but the injured forward is running out of time to recover from his latest back injury.
After returning from a back injury to feature four times for Arne Slot‘s side, a loan was arranged in January to continue Danns’ upward trajectory.
During his medical, however, a setback with his back was revealed and he was sent to the AXA Training Centre for rehab with the intention of joining Sunderland when he was ready.
Earlier this month, Sunderland‘s update was that “there is no update” and Thursday cast further doubt on Danns ever making it to the Stadium of Light.
Ahead of Sunderland‘s return against Millwall on Saturday, head coach Regis Le Bris was asked by reporters whether it was time to admit defeat on the loan deal.
He said, via the Northern Echo: “We are not at this point right now but the season is running so it will be difficult. We don’t know exactly.”
Not entirely optimistic, is it?
There are only eight games remaining in the Black Cats’ season, though they will hope to finish the campaign in the play-off spots to add a further three games to their schedule.
They are currently fourth, 12 points clear of seventh – an almost certainty to be competing for a return to the Premier League.
But with less than two months left in the 2024/25 season, Danns does not have a lot of time to prove his fitness and his ability to make a difference for Sunderland.
They clearly saw something in the 19-year-old otherwise his medical would have been enough to put a line through the deal, but he has yet to even train under Le Bris.
Liverpool will be closely monitoring Danns after a stress fracture in his back last summer kept him out of action at any level until late November, meaning they will not rush his recovery.
Danns could yet prove everyone wrong but current signs suggest he will struggle to have an influence for the Black Cats this season.
