Sunderland boss Jack Ross believes that getting back-to-back appearances under his belt is a massive step towards recovery for long-term injury absentee Duncan Watmore.
The 24-year-old played 78 minutes of the FA Cup second round replay against Walsall, though he was unable to prevent the side from losing 1-0 in the end.
While the loss meant the end of road in the competition for the Black Cats, Ross was impressed with the performance of attacker Watmore, who was appearing after more than a year since rupturing his cruciate ligament.
Having previously played in the EFL Trophy against Notts County on 4th December, Ross insists that the player is making good progress and is starting to carry a threat not by playing wide, but by playing centrally.
"That was much more like a normal game [against Walsall] and that step up was evident", Ross was quoted as saying by Chronicle Live.
"I thought he did really well considering, it's a huge absence he's had and he felt it physically in the second half, but to get that under his belt was a massive step forward in his recovery."
On Watmore's position on the pitch, the manager added: "I think he's more than capable of playing through the middle.
"I also think that where he's at in his recovery and within games, rather than asking him to continually shift up and down the wide areas, it was the sensible thing to do in those two games.
"It's that balance between the duty of care we have to him in his recovery and how we best use him in games.
"Within that area of the pitch of he gives us something different and you saw that, he offered a threat, that increased sharpness will come with each passing game as well."
Sunderland's next game will be in the league against Bristol Rovers.
