Lee Burge facing month on sidelines as Sunderland monitor heart issue

Sunderland goalkeeper Lee Burge is facing an extended spell on the sidelines as the club continue to monitor his recent heart issues.

Burge underwent blood tests after testing positive for Covid-19 and the results have caused concern at the Sky Bet League One club.

The 29-year-old, whose last start for the Black Cats was in the 5-1 Carabao Cup quarter-final defeat to Arsenal on December 21, is set to be out for at least a month before being re-assessed.

“He has still got an issue,” Sunderland manager Lee Johnson told a pre-match press conference ahead of his side’s trip to Bolton.

“It’s effectively a slightly inflamed heart. He’s going to have four or five weeks where he needs to keep his heart rate below 100 and then he’ll have tests again to check that hopefully it is fully back to normal.

“He’s being looked after really well, we’ve flagged it up early so he can rest and he should make a full recovery, and we expect that very quickly.”