Wickham boost for Black Cats

Sunderland striker Connor Wickham suffered no serious damage when he injured his knee at Manchester United, the club has confirmed.

Manager Steve Bruce feared the 18-year-old had damaged ligaments when he went down in agony at Old Trafford just seconds into last weekend's 1-0 Barclays Premier League defeat. However, initial scans suggested the damage was not as serious as first thought, and further examinations have revealed no lasting problem.

A statement released via the club's official website, www.safc.com, said: "Sunderland have announced that further investigations have shown that Connor Wickham has not suffered any serious damage to his knee."

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