Ankle op for Bardsley

Sunderland defender Phil Bardsley is set to miss the start of the season after having surgery on an injured ankle.

Bardsley sustained the injury early in pre-season and is set to miss "a number of weeks".

Boss Martin O'Neill revealed his defender had already gone under the knife, but was able to deliver better news on injured trio Stephane Sessegnon, Wes Brown and David Vaughan.

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