Sunderland suffer big Jack Clarke injury blow ahead of Norwich, Leicester and Southampton matches

Sunderland's top scorer Jack Clarke has been ruled out for up to six weeks after sustaining an ankle ligament injury.

The 23-year-old picked up the issue during the Black Cats' 2-1 defeat at Birmingham and missed last weekend's game against Swansea at the Stadium of Light. It's a huge blow for Sunderland, losing a player who has scored 15 goals and provided four assists in the Championship this season 

Sunderland are preparing for Saturday's trip to Norwich, before a home game against Leicester and away match at Southampton. If Clarke misses six weeks of action, he would return ahead of Sunderland's fixture against West Brom on Saturday, April 13, meaning he would miss eight Championship matches.

The Black Cats have drifted eight points off the play-off places, with 12 games remaining, following their 2-1 defeat against Swansea at the Stadium of Light last time out.