Sunderland manager Martin O’Neill has admitted he is worried about the prospect of some of his players picking up injuries on international duty.

The Black Cats are in an alarming run of form in the Premier League and are currently just four points clear of the bottom three.

They could only draw 1-1 with Norwich City on Saturday and have not won in seven league games, while their threadbare squad is being tested to its limits.

Defender Carlos Cuellar picked up an injury against the Canaries, and O’Neill is concerned that more of his players could pick up knocks while away with their countries.

Desperate

O’Neill is desperate to have as many players available as possible for their forthcoming fixtures, which look daunting to say the least.

Sunderland’s next five games are against Manchester United, Chelsea, Newcastle United, Everton and Aston Villa, before they conclude their season against Stoke City, Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur.

They can ill-afford to be missing any more players ahead of such a testing schedule, and O’Neill is worried about the international fixtures over the next week.

Concerned

He said, as reported by Sky Sports: “It will be a worry for us because we don’t have that many to choose from.

“That’s been a situation that has appeared all season, so I would obviously be concerned about the players going away.

“Some of them have two matches to play as well – a lot of them have – so I will just wait to see when they come back again.

“With Carlos Cuellar getting an injury, our concern is the players. We just need every able-bodied person around for the last eight games.”