Lee Cattermole has suffered a minor setback on his return to fitness.
The midfielder underwent hip surgery in November which was expected to keep him sidelined for around four months.
But speaking ahead of Saturday’s trip to Everton, David Moyes revealed that Cattermole has suffered a setback.
“Because Catts has been running I think he’s got a sore Achilles and he’s had an injection in it,” explained the Sunderland boss.
“He’s recovering from his hip but he’s trying to get over the period of getting injured and getting back, so I don’t think it will necessarily be a quick return.”
He continued: “I don’t want to say that he won’t play again this season, and with the way the fixtures have gone with the cups we may find there’s a batch of games at the end of April.
“Perhaps that may help us because we might be able to get Victor Anichebe back, we maybe get Catts back and we certainly hope Kirchhoff will be back, so it might be our advantage.”