Sunderland winger Duncan Watmore has suffered a second cruciate ligament injury in the space of 12 months.
In December, Watmore was ruled out of the rest of the 2016-17 season after sustaining the serious knee injury, and the 23-year-old was able to make his return to the first team at the end of September.
However, on Saturday, the former England Under-21 international was forced off in the first half of Sunderland's 2-2 draw with Millwall at the Stadium of Light, and there were immediate fears that the attacker had suffered a similar problem.
A scan has confirmed that Watmore faces another lengthy spell on the sidelines, with Sky Sports News claiming that the player will be out of action for 10 months.
Since making his comeback, Watmore had played for 322 minutes, with four starts and two substitute outings coming since September 30.
