•  Corry Evans has been sidelined for over a year due to a serious knee injury, limiting his playing time at Sunderland.
•  Evans may only play U21 games before the season ends, raising questions about his future at the club due to ongoing injury issues.
•  The experienced defender’s potential return hinges on his recovery progress, with a decision needed on extending his contract soon.

Due to his lack of first team action for Sunderland this season, Corry Evans has been somewhat of a forgotten man at the

Stadium of Light. Evans is a player from Northern Ireland.

The last time the 33-year-old kicked a ball in anger for the Black Cats was during a 2-0 victory over Middlesbrough in January 2023, which coincided with the start of more than a year of injured torment.

Evans has missed 13 months of football due to a catastrophic knee injury sustained in the match against their northeastern neighbors. Although he returned to training last week, it doesn’t appear probable that we’ll see him play for the first team anytime soon.

Corry Evans injury updates

Sunderland fans would have been excited to see the club captain back around his teammates on the training

pitch recently, but caretaker manager Mike Dodds has played down any hope of

an instant return to full intensity workouts.

With an injury so severe it will take some time for the former Blackburn

Rovers man to be back to full strength, and with just a handful of games remaining in the 23/24 season Dodds

isn’t sure if he’ll get any game time before the off-season.

“With Corry, he is back in full training but he’s been out for well over a year,” Dodds said.

“I believe the intention is for him to participate in a few U21 matches, which I

believe are against Manchester City and Newcastle United. After he plays a few

minutes in those matches, we will evaluate him.

“Corry won’t be in the squad very soon, but we’ll see where he is after those

games. If he plays well, he’ll be much closer to being selected.”

Evans’ deal expires in the summer, and while Sunderland can choose to extend it

for one additional season, given his prolonged absence from Championship

play, is it time to leave the Stadium of Light?

Corry Evans career history and contract information

Evans joined Sunderland in the summer of 2021 after playing more than 200 games in an eight-year stint with Blackburn, although much of his time on Wearside has been disrupting with such a debilitating injury.

A month after suffering a cruciate ligament injury, the defender was given the opportunity to sign a new contract from the team, demonstrating their dedication to helping the seasoned player—who has made 64 appearances for the team—get better.

The outcome of the next few months will determine whether or not the Northern Irishman gets to live another year, as it will depend greatly on how quickly he makes progress toward his comeback.

Since leaving Manchester United as a youth, the center back has consistently

performed at the Championship level. He experienced loan stints at Carlisle United

and Hull City, but he never played for the Red Devils in the main squad.

After making an impression with the Tigers, he moved permanently to Humberside in 2011. In August of 2013, he joined Ewood Park, where he would remain until the beginning of the following decade.

After joining Sunderland as a League One team, Evans played a key role in his team’s promotion back to the Championship during his first season there. However, his second season was cut short after just 24 games.

Given how many players the squad has lost since Evans last played a game—

Tony Mowbray and Michael Beale, for example—you have to question if Evans

will be regarded as a first-team regular whenever he returns to fitness.

Given that players like Dan Ballard, Jenson Seelt, and January signing Leo Hjelde from Leeds United are playing

well at the back, the 33-year-old doesn’t fit the mold for a team that relies more

on junior players than in the past and may be surplus to needs.

When he returns to match fitness, he won’t be short of admirers, and if

injuries allow, he can easily fill in at the back for the start of the following season

in either League One or the Championship.