Sunderland were beaten 2-0 by Everton in their most recent outing.
David Moyes has told the Sunderland Echo that his side’s preparations for their match against Everton at the weekend were disrupted at the last minute.
Denayer was all set to start for Sunderland at Goodison Park, but he came down with illness and was not fit enough to feature.
As a result, Moyes had to make some alterations to his team, and the Scottish boss admits it did have a negative impact.
“He was ill as well. It was a problem because he was in the team we picked on Friday and we’d worked on it. But, on Saturday morning, he didn’t feel well so we had to make a change,” Moyes said.
Sunderland ended up losing 2-0 to Everton, and they struggled to create chances in the match.
The Black Cats fell behind when Idrissa Gueye struck for the Toffees, and were on the back foot for much of the contest.
Sunderland’s best chance fell to Jermain Defoe, but he blasted his shot against the cross bar.
And the Black Cats were made to rue Defoe’s failure to convert his opportunity, as Romelu Lukaku went down the other end and netted to secure the three points for Everton.
Sunderland are now stuck at the bottom of the Premier League table, and sit three points adrift of safety.
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