Injury concern for Sunderland midfielder

Sunderland’s team captain limped out of the 2-0 win over Oxford United with an hour on the clock.

Parkinson revealed after the match that the 27-year-old was suffering from a tight hamstring.

The Black Cats boss said it did not immediately look to be serious, but said he has players ready for an opportunity should be ruled out for next Saturday’s game.

Josh Scowen would be the obvious candidate, with the former Barnsley midfielder just missing out on selection at the Kassam Stadium as Grant Leadbitter made his first league appearance of the season.

“Max felt a tightness in his hamstring, which is frustrating for him and for us,” Parkinson said.

“But we've got other players who can come in and we think it's not too serious.”

Lynden Gooch will also be pushing for selection after his stunning solo goal, with Parkinson admitting beforehand that it had been ‘very, very difficult’ to leave him out of the side.

The Black Cats will face a Peterborough side next Saturday bouyant after completing a remarkable comeback against Joey Barton’s Fleetwood Town.

Barton’s side took a 1-0 lead into stoppage time but goals from Jack Taylor and Sammie Szmodics snatched three points.

Manager Darren Ferguson said: "For the last 25 minutes we just kept plugging away and fortunately came up with two really good finishes for the goals.

"They both came from balls into the box, we won the first contact, then the second, and Taylor's is a fantastic finish, they both are.

"The players deserved it for the relentlessness they showed in terms of trying to get a result.

"I had a feeling we’d get something because I thought out fitness looked good, we looked strong towards the end of the game, and the change in shaped helped us.

"We got Siriki Dembele into wide areas and we kept going and going, and Fleetwood sat deep which helped us because it meant we had control of the ball.

"So it was pleasing to get our first win, against a rival who will be up there I would imagine, and it is a very pleasing day."