SUNDERLAND'S deadline-day attacking signing, Ahmed Abdullahi, will miss the next three months because of a groin injury that requires surgery.

Abdullahi joined the Black Cats from Gent at the end of last month, having scored 21 goals in 28 appearances in the Belgian third tier last season.

The 20-year-old played for Gent in the top-flight at the start of August, but has been struggling with a groin issue for some time.

The problem did not prevent his signing from going through, with Sunderland having conducted a medical prior to completing a permanent transfer, but the Black Cats opted to get specialist advice on the injury issue.

That consultation has led to a recommendation of surgery, and Abdullahi was due to have an operation today that is expected to rule him out of action until December.

Another of Sunderland’s deadline-day signing, Salis Abdul Samed, has been unable to take part in full training during the international break, although his problem is not as severe.

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Samed, who joined on loan from Lens, has been restricted to light training and will not be available for Saturday’s trip to Plymouth. He could, however, be able to contend for a place in the squad for the Wear-Tees derby with Middlesbrough the following weekend.

“At the minute, we have two injured players,” confirmed Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris. “Salis is not training for the first part of the sessions. I think he will be available for selection in around eight to ten days.

“Ahmed is different because he will have surgery. He will probably have ten to 12 weeks off the pitch. It wasn’t so clear when we signed him. We need an expert to understand exactly what the problem was.

“Now, we know. The diagnosis is clear, and it will be solved after this surgery. He had this pain, a soreness in his groin, for a long time. It was not very clear, but now I think it will be solved.”

Sunderland’s other two deadline-day signings, Chris Mepham and Milan Aleksic, are both fit, although they have only begun training with their new team-mates as they have spent most of the last fortnight on international duty with Wales and Serbia respectively.

The Black Cats had a large group of players away on international duty, and they have all returned to Wearside without any problems.

“All the players who have been away are back with no problems,” confirmed Le Bris. “Otherwise, there's no new injuries.”