Sunderland manager Steve Bruce fears that star striker Darren Bent will not play again this month.

The former Tottenham forward picked up a hamstring injury in training last week and missed Saturday's 2-0 victory against Stoke City.

He was replaced in the starting line-up by Asamoah Gyan who went on to score both goals in the Stadium of Light clash, and Bruce is happy to keep faith with the Ghana international.

Bruce said:"We'd planned all week how we were going to play (against Stoke), but then Darren pulled up with a hamstring strain, so that threw us into chaos.

"As weeks go, could it have got much worse? But then Gyan comes in and he's a star.

"He gave us a spark and he gave the sort of performance which I used to watch at his former club and which first made me want to buy him. I think now we're finally starting to get him back to where he was over the summer.

"He came back from the World Cup without a pre-season and, on the quiet, we've been doing a lot of physical work on him, because he was sadly lacking in that department.

"It was important he had a break after competing in the World Cup, but then it's been a case of trying to get those fitness levels up to that demanded in the Premier League.

"I feared that letting go of Kenwyne Jones and then seeing something happen to Fraizer Campbell would leave us light in attack, but Asamoah has shown, I think, that he's going to be a hell of a player for us. It was a great performance from him and it will have put him on the radar."

Bent is expected to miss the Premier League games against former club Spurs, Chelsea, Everton and Wolves.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email