Six Black Cats stars ruled out of Premier fixture

Sunderland will be without their AFCON absentees for at least another further Premier League fixture, and most likely another two.

- by Phil Smith

Senegal's Habib Diarra fights for the ball with Sudan's Ammar Taifour during the Africa Cup of Nations round of 16.

All six Sunderland players at the tournament have seen their countries progress to the last 16 of the tournament, with Bertrand Traore's Burkino Faso beating Sudan 2-0 on the final day of group fixtures to finish second in their group.

While Reinildo's Mozambique suffered a narrow defeat to Cameroon in their final group fixture, they have qualified for the knockout stages as one of the best third-place finishers.