Cuellar ruled out with hamstring injury

Sunderland defender Carlos Cuellar has been ruled out for the club's next three matches after suffering a hamstring injury in its 1-1 draw with Liverpool on Saturday.

The Spaniard had been receiving treatment since the match, but manager Martin O'Neill revealed that the 31-year-old will be sidelined for Saturday's match against West Ham and could be absent for Sunderland's subsequent League Cup meeting with MK Dons and Premier League tilt with Wigan.

"Carlos Cuellar has had a hamstring problem so he will be very, very doubtful, not just for this game, but perhaps for the next couple of matches," O'Neill said on Thursday. "So from that viewpoint it is a bit disconcerting, but these things happen and you just have to get on with it."

O'Neill revealed that he also could be without summer signing Adam Johnson after the English international picked up a thigh injury last week.

"We were hoping that he would have made the fixture against Liverpool last weekend, but that wasn't the case," O'Neill added. "He is progressing and it's too early to say about this weekend."