The Black Cats forward was out of action for a year with a long-term knee injury but featured in Tuesday night’s Checkatrade Trophy win over Notts County.
It looks as though 2018 is to end on a high note for Sunderland, with things much better both on the pitch and off it.
The Black Cats have now received another boost as a fan favourite has played his first competitive senior game for over a year.
Duncan Watmore suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury during Sunderland’s 2-1 home win over Leicester City on 3 December 2016.
The 24-year-old was ruled out for almost a year before he returned last term, playing six games before suffering a reoccurence in November 2017.
A week ago, Watmore played his first minutes since last year’s draw against Millwall as he started in a Premier League 2 defeat against Middlesbrough and completed 60 minutes.
On Tuesday night, the forward was named by Jack Ross in Sunderland’s starting XI for the Checkatrade Trophy second-round home encounter against Notts County.
To make things even better for Watmore, he played a crucial role in the opener, his 22nd-minute effort saved before coming off Magpies defender Dan Jones for an own goal.
Sunderland ran out 2-0 winners over the League Two strugglers in a fairly routine win, but Watmore’s 67 minutes on the pitch and assist are certainly the more newsworthy items.
A number of Black Cats fans took to Twitter after the game to express their delight with their hero’s progress:
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