Sunderland Head Coach Tony Mowbray has confirmed defender Jordan Willis has left the club.
Having made the switch to Wearside from Coventry City in 2019, Willis went on to make 60 appearances scoring one goal. However, a ruptured patella tendon has kept him out of first-team action for nearly two years.
The 28-year-old had been continuing his rehabilitation after the expiration of his contract in July 2022 but Willis will now leave the Academy of Light in search of regular first-team football after a recent return to full training.
Mowbray said: “I had Jordan at Coventry City and he was very good. He got a move to a very big football club. Whilst I didn’t see him play for Sunderland, I know what he would bring but he has picked up some bad injuries.”
“Our conversations over the last few weeks is that I feel he is at a level now where he ended up training over the last couple of weeks with the first-team. I feel that he needs to go and play now and get his career started again. Go and train with a first-team everyday and show the manager that you warrant a place in his team.
“That is what we decided. It was a tough ask particularly with the central defenders and the right-backs that we have. There didn’t seem a very obvious route for him.
“I think it was for the best. I think he had an option to go and train. He’s fit but he has to overcome the mental scars of a long term injury and then once he does that, through repetition of training, hopefully he gets into the game scenarios, forgets about injuries and is the best version of himself.”
Best of luck, Jordan!