Sunderland will aim to stop a run of four consecutive losses in the Championship tonight against Leicester City, Mike Dodds' underperformers desperate for a win to kickstart a push back up the division.
A shock result swinging in favour of the dire Black Cats will have to come about despite Jack Clarke not being available, a less than ideal scenario with the second tier side relying on the magic of their star winger to bail them out of many tricky situations this season.
Injuries troubling the Sunderland squad haven't just been worrying off the back of this recent development involving the former Tottenham Hotspur winger, with a lack of fit full-backs in Niall Huggins and Dennis Cirkin also hurting the Wearside outfit at stages this campaign.
Trai Hume has stepped up and filled in as a makeshift left-back at times, but Sunderland would love to have this former versatile presence back in their ranks to fill multiple gaps if the list of those sidelined ever got more out of control.
Paddy McNair's time at Sunderland
Before relocating to the Stadium of Light in 2016, former Manchester United prodigy Paddy McNair was hyped up to have a massive future for the Red Devils in the first team.
Louis Van Gaal waxed lyrical about the Northern Irish youngster when he was still on the books at Old Trafford, stating that he could be 'the right full-back of Manchester United for the next ten years' and further hyped up by the media to be the 'new Gary Neville.'
Making 27 first-team appearances for the Red Devils, McNair would be moved on to Wearside to get more minutes under his belt despite previous outlandish praise coming his way in Manchester.
The now 28-year-old would go on to shine for the Black Cats even as the team collectively crumbled to back-to-back relegations when he was a consistent starter, surprisingly bagging seven goals as a more defensive midfield option in the Premier League and Championship.
McNair would be a worthwhile asset to have around the building now, but the 6 foot 2 flexible figure would leave behind the Stadium of Light owing to recurring injury issues for pastures new at Middlesbrough.
He has since become a key senior player for Boro over a number of seasons now, excelling under former Red Devils legend Michael Carrick who currently occupies the Riverside dug-out.
If anything, McNair could be viewed as an upgrade on Hume with the ex-Man United player even more adaptable than his fellow compatriot.
Paddy McNair's time at Middlesbrough
McNair has gone on to make 215 appearances for Boro, justifying the £5m price tag that saw the Teesside club land him back in 2018.
Described as being a "terrific" footballer last season at the Riverside Stadium by Carrick – with the 42-year-old boss playing McNair predominantly at centre-back to receive such praise – Hume's spot in defence could have been on shaky ground if Sunderland had kept McNair around.
Only starting nine of his many games for Boro as a right-back, the 66-cap international would also give competition to places to the likes of Daniel Ballard and Luke O'Nien in the heart of defence and even Dan Neil in defensive midfield.
With a number of under-performers letting Sunderland down now under Mike Dodds, who has fallen to two defeats on the spin since taking back on the interim reins, McNair would theoretically break into the current Black Cats first-team fold if he returned to the Wearside outfit.
Sunderland will just want to get a win no matter what against the Foxes tonight regardless, whilst McNair lines up for his current employers away at Norwich City tomorrow aiming to reinvigorate his own Boro side.
