Ruthless with Ross Stewart; toothless without him. Sunderland's reliance on the man Tony Mowbray described as the team's 'talisman' was underlined in their defeat at Middlesbrough.
Stewart had struck twice against Rotherham United six days earlier to help new head coach Mowbray's reign get off to a winning start at the Stadium of Light. So when news came through that the club's most potent attacking weapon had picked up a thigh injury in the warm-up at the Riverside Stadium and had pulled out of the game, it was a huge blow.
Sunderland are now waiting on a scan to discover the extent of Stewart's injury, with Mowbray saying the Scot could be out for anywhere between two weeks and two months depending on the severity. The question is: how well will Sunderland cope without him?
READ MORE: Sunderland face anxious wait to find out severity of 'talisman' Ross Stewart's injury
If he back in a fortnight, he would miss three games. But if Mowbray's worst-case scenario comes to pass and Stewart is out for around two months, Sunderland might not see him until December - after the World Cup break - by which time he would have sat out 13 matches.
Suddenly, Sunderland's failure during the transfer window to bring in a third specialist centre-forward to act as cover for Stewart and Ellis Simms looks like a massive gamble. It was the same last season, when no like-for-like cover was signed in January when Nathan Broadhead was already sidelined, leaving Sunderland's promotion hopes reliant on Stewart remaining fit and scoring goals.
Thankfully, he did so and his goals - 26 over the campaign in total - powered the club into the play-offs and ultimately the Championship. This time they have not been so lucky, and the man who has scored five goals in seven outings so far is sidelined, while Simms - who started the season with three goals in his first two games - has since gone five matches without a goal.
In his post-deadline day briefing on Friday, sporting director Kristjaan Speakman was relaxed about the lack of a third centre-forward, insisting that wideman Leon Dajaku could operate up front if needed, as could on-loan Manchester United winger Amad Diallo. "We think we've got loads of flexibility in the group," he said.
"You've got Ross and Ellis who are out-and-out number nines, then you've got Amad who has come in, Leon can play up there, and then we have got some younger ones underneath if we feel the time is right or the opportunity is there then are more than happy to play those boys if they are doing what we need them to do, which is to show that appetite to develop and grow. We feel we have tactical flexibility, personal flexibility, so that we can get through to the next pitstop in January."
That confidence looks destined to be put to the test. Stewart's absence was the big talking point in the wake of Sunderland's defeat on Teesside.
As Mowbray said at full-time, the late change which saw Patrick Roberts start instead of Stewart meant that two days' preparations had to be junked and a new gameplan written on the fly during a two-minute chat with the players. The upshot was that while Sunderland had more than 61 percent of the possession and matched Boro for long periods in a tight game, the difference was plain for all to see in their respective final thirds.
Boro always looked a threat, and only a string of excellent saves from Anthony Patterson prevented them from adding to Riley McGree's 25th-minute goal. At the other end, Boro keeper Liam Roberts had only one meaningful save to make, and that came ten minutes from time when he kept out a free-kick from Elliot Embleton.
Sunderland's final ball was woeful at times with Jack Clarke, who scored one goal and provided two assists for Stewart against Rotherham, overhitting cross after cross, while Simms and Alex Pritchard had opportunities but could not hit the target. In a sense, given that Sunderland are a newly-promoted side and were without their best player while Chris Wilder's Boro were tipped in pre-season as play-off contenders, the Black Cats should not be too downhearted.
But there was still a feeling that it would have been a very different game had Stewart been fit.
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