Sunderland manager Lee Johnson has revealed the extent of an injury picked up by the Black Cats centre-forward Nathan Broadhead on Tuesday evening.

What's been said?

In comments cited by the Sunderland website, the 40-year-old boss revealed that the Everton loanee was withdrawn in the club's 5-0 demolition of Cheltenham Town on Tuesday evening due to a hamstring injury, as well as suggesting that the 23-year-old could be set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines if his upcoming scan reveals muscle damage.

Speaking about the condition of the forward, Johnson said: "The good news is that Nathan has felt better having slept on it, and he will have a scan before the Portsmouth game.

"He was really frustrated having to come off after playing so well on the night – he performed magnificently. The reality of the issue is that it could be anywhere between two and six weeks if there is muscle damage."

Fans will be gutted

Considering how bright Broadhead has looked for Sunderland since his season-long loan switch to the Stadium of Light back in August, the news regarding the potential absence of the striker is sure to have left Sunderland fans gutted.

Indeed, while the £450k-rated man is yet to score over his four League One appearances for the club - only one of which has come as a start - the youngster has nevertheless demonstrated his ability in Sunderland's Carabao Cup campaign this season.

The Wales U21 international particularly impressed in the 2-0 win over Wigan Athletic, scoring one goal, completing both of his two attempted dribbles, making two key passes and winning five duels over his 90 minutes on the pitch, with these returns seeing the striker receive a SofaScore match rating of 7.8.

As such, should the man who Everton U23 manager David Unsworth claimed is "one of the best" players he's ever worked with be ruled out for a number of weeks, it would undoubtedly come as a blow to Johnson, who will require his strongest players to be available as often as possible if he is to maintain his team's automatic push for promotion this season.

In other news: "Athletic" £450k-rated Sunderland beast who won 100% duels ran the show vs Cheltenham