Sunderland have confirmed that Duncan Watmore is likely to miss the rest of the season with a cruciate knee ligament injury.
Reports earlier this week suggested that the problem, sustained during Sunderland's 2-1 victory over champions Leicester City at the weekend, could bring a premature end to the 22-year-old's season.
Watmore needed to be stretchered off following a clash with Christian Fuchs and he is now not expected to appear again until the 2017-18 campaign.
"Sunderland boss David Moyes has confirmed that Duncan Watmore is likely to miss the rest of the Black Cats' season following the results of his scan on Monday," read a statement from Sunderland.
"Results from the scans revealed Watmore has suffered cruciate knee ligament damage."
Watmore had started 11 games for the Black Cats this season, helping the team to three wins from their last four outings.
