John O'Shea succumbed to injury against Middlesbrough and David Moyes knows his Sunderland squad is being stretched to the limit.
David Moyes conceded Sunderland are down to the "bare bones" after an injury to John O'Shea in the 2-1 defeat to Middlesbrough further stretched their already depleted squad.
With Younes Kaboul having left for Watford in midweek and Lamine Kone struggling with a back injury while reportedly angling for a move to Everton, O'Shea started alongside debutant Papy Djilobodji in the centre of defence as Paddy McNair was deployed in midfield.
But the veteran defender was replaced by Steven Pienaar in the 37th minute on Sunday and could be set to join Sebastian Larsson, Jan Kirchhoff, Lee Cattermole and Billy Jones on the sidelines.