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Sunderland have suffered another huge injury blow after Victor Anichebe was ruled out for three months with knee ligament damage.

The big striker ruptured his medial ligament in Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at The Hawthorns against his old club West Bromwich Albion.

Anichebe suffered the injury in a block tackle just minutes after he entered the action as a substitute, making his comeback from the hamstring injury that had sidelined him since New Year’s Eve.

The 28-year-old played the remainder of the game, but further investigation this week has revealed the extent of the damage.

He will spend the next six weeks in a knee brace and is expected to be out of action for a total of 12 weeks, which would rule him out until mid-April.

Anichebe’s injury is bad news for boss David Moyes , who will now need to add a striker to the list of reinforcements he is looking to add this month.

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Time is of the essence because the transfer window is due to close a week today, and to further complicate matters Sunderland have very little money to spend.

Losing Anichebe is a major problem for Sunderland, whose best spell of the season - the run of four wins in seven games in November and December - came when the powerhouse forward was introduced into the starting XI to add some physical presence and provide a target to aim at in the final third of the pitch.

Anichebe’s problem is the latest in a catalogue of injuries that have dogged the Wearsiders this season.

He joins Lee Cattermole, Jan Kirchhoff, Jordan Pickford, Paddy McNair, and Duncan Watmore on the sidelines.

And at various stages this season, Vito Mannone, Seb Larsson, Jack Rodwell, and Steven Pienaar, have all been out for extended periods.