Sunderland will be without midfielder Lynden Gooch for between two weeks and a month, manager Phil Parkinson has revealed.

The 24-year-old United States international faces an injection to help deal with an ankle injury and will miss at least the next three games against Fleetwood, Burton and Wigan.

“Lynden went to see a specialist on Wednesday night about an ankle injury,” Parkinson told the club’s website.

“He feels he needs a period of rest and he’ll have an injection on Friday, so we expect him to be out for between two and four weeks.

“It’s certainly a blow for Lynden as he has been exceptional so far this season, but we have to take the specialist’s advice and ensure he’s ready and firing when he returns.”

The four-week upper estimate would cost Gooch a further four games, leaving the home clash with Hull on Boxing Day as his likely return date.