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Duncan Watmore injury 'doesn't look good', admits David Moyes

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David Moyes gives an initial verdict on Duncan Watmore's injury after his Sunderland side beat current champions Leicester 2-1.

David Moyes admitted Duncan Watmore's injury "doesn't look good" after the Sunderland forward injured his knee in the 2-1 win against Leicester.

The injury was the only black mark for Sunderland as victory over champions Leicester handed them their third win in four league matches.

Watmore went down following a challenge from Christian Fuchs, despite the Leicester defender appearing to win the ball cleanly.

The clash resulted in Watmore being stretchered off, and Moyes confirmed it could be bad news for the 22-year-old.

"It's his knee. We'll need to get it assessed properly and find out exactly what it is, but it doesn't look good for him at the moment," Moyes told Sky Sports after the match.

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Sunderland 2-1 Leicester highlights

"I hope I'm wrong, I hope by the time we get it checked it's not what they think it is."

"It's disappointing as we've lost Paddy McNair and Lynden Gooch - two young players who have been getting a bit of game time.

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"Duncan has been a big part of the first team and it would be a big blow."

Duncan Watmore goes down after a challenge from Leicester's Christian Fuchs
Image: Duncan Watmore goes down after a challenge from Leicester's Christian Fuchs

There were plenty of positives for Moyes to focus on as his side moved off the bottom of the table.

Jermain Defoe who put Sunderland 2-0 up after a Robert Huth own goal, and Moyes' men held on after Shinji Okazaki reduced the deficit with 10 minutes to go.

And despite Sunderland failing to break the deadlock in the opening half, Moyes said it was the best he had seen his side play.

"From the first whistle, it was the best we've played in the opening 30 minutes," Moyes added. "We had several opportunities and we played well, which is something we've not tended to do.

"I thought we dropped a little in the second half and I was worried about it, but thankfully they kept going and we got a first goal from a set piece, which we haven't been doing at all this season.

Sunderland's Jan Kirchoff (third left) celebrates his goal against Leicester
Image: Sunderland's Jan Kirchoff (third left) celebrates after his header comes off Robert Huth for their opener

"It was great work for the second goal which gave us a wee bit of breathing space, and it was deserved because I thought we did enough to win the game."

The Black Cats had goalkeeper Jordan Pickford to thank for the three points, as his superb one-handed save in the last minute of stoppage time denied Wes Morgan from levelling for Leicester.

"It was a great save," said Moyes. "I have said many times that I am expecting that from him. He's that calibre of goalkeeper.

"He's young and had some moments which weren't as clean as you'd like. You could see there was a little bit of inexperience in his play but when it comes to those situations, he has been terrific for us."