The international break is infamous for its ability to swallow a side's star players and spit them back out nursing injuries, and Sunderland are feeling such effects right now.

Regis Le Bris' side have made a solid start to the season. They might have lost two on the bounce in the Premier League, but those games were against Arsenal and Manchester City, and the Black Cats were aggrieved to have fallen short on both occasions.

Brian Brobbey claimed an emphatic hat-trick during the recent 5-3 loss to City at the Etihad Stadium, but he has been sent home early by Netherlands, and Sunderland's injury worries have been further exacerbated by Dan Ballard's setback for Northern Ireland on Friday evening.

Why Brobbey and Ballard are such big misses for Sunderland

Brobbey is unquestionably the most important attacker under Le Bris' wing at Sunderland. He offers something unique, a wicked blend of physicality and focal presence in the final third.

If the hamstring issue he picked up against Jurgen Klopp's Germany rules him out for an extended period, it will be a detrimental blow against Le Bris' hopes of making headway over the autumn. After the international break, Sunderland play seven games across a 21-day span.

Wilson Isidor simply doesn't have the dynamism and intuitiveness as a Premier League striker to make the same kind of progress. Indeed, Brobbey is irreplaceable up top, his all-encompassing attacking displays so far this season showcasing form befitting a player at one of Europe's finest outfits.

Ballard, 27, might not have quite so lofty a reputation himself, but the centre-half is so important for the Black Cats. Sunderland are a gritty and hard-hitting side, and no player has won more duels than the Northern Irishman's 45 in the Premier League this season.

The extent of Ballard's injury remains to be seen, but his international manager Michael O'Neill has already asserted that that's him done for this current run of fixtures.

These are both important players, but Sunderland's problems have been exacerbated by yet another setback.

Sunderland have a bigger issue than Brobbey & Ballard

Sunderland don't exactly have the largest squad in the Premier League, and with Europa League football to balance alongside their domestic duties, the last thing Le Bris needs is for his players to start dropping like flies.

But this is the reality, and the French tactician and his coterie will be more than a bit alarmed about Noah Sadiki's supposed injury suffered with DR Congo on Monday: a 2-1 win over Zimbabwe during their African Cup of Nation's qualifier.

Sadiki has started all five of Sunderland's Premier League fixtures this term. He won eight duels and made five defensive contributions on Monday, very much in typically energetic form. To lose him now would be a startling blow against Sunderland's hopes over the coming weeks. His energy and impetus may even be more important than the defensive clearances of Ballard, Brobbey's strength and attitude in the final third.

Granted, the robust midfielder can often be seen leaving the field a little gingerly after tireless performances for the Wearsiders, but it's still alarming when considering the wider injury issues at Sunderland right now. Habib Diarra is already out after groin surgery, and he's not expected back until November.

Sadiki, 21, joined Sunderland from Union Saint-Gilloise in Belgium for around £17.5m in 2025, after they completed their ascent to the Premier League. He has been a revelation alongside the likes of Granit Xhaka, immense last season.

He has been near-irreplaceable. No one does it quite like him at the Stadium of Light. In the Premier League so far in 2026/27, Sadiki has completed 67% of his dribbles and won four duels per game on average. The robust midfielder zips about and keeps it tidy when on the ball, facilitating those around him.

Brobbey is undoubtedly a big miss, but Xhaka is not the youngest in the middle of the park anymore, and Sadiki enables the Swiss skipper. Fingers crossed that he is not set to be sidelined for an extended period, else Sunderland may lose something critical at the heart of their system - just as it started to feel like Le Bris' side were tightening their tactical screws before the international break.