Mike Dodds will be pulling his hair out over who he should select at centre-back for Sunderland's next Championship encounter, with the issues in defence just piling up for the out-of-luck Black Cats of late.
Whilst Luke O'Nien being suspended and Daniel Ballard's availability being up in the air owing to a hamstring knock was already adding to Dodds' stress, the misery has been compounded even more now knowing that Jenson Seelt looks like he could well be out for the season in the heart of defence too with a serious injury.
As a consequence, Sunderland may well be cursing their luck that they allowed a certain defensive prospect to head out on loan to Scotland, with the versatile 20-year-old in question beginning to impress those at his new short-term club to the dismay of the Black Cats in their current predicament.
Nectarios Trinatis' time at Sunderland
Signed from Central Coast Mariners in far-out Australia just last summer, Nectarios Trinatis hasn't really been able to bed into the Sunderland starting lineup in his short time in the building.
The young Australian defender hasn't been helped by the fact O'Nien and Ballard are trusted in their centre-back duties as main starters for Sunderland when available, and so the 6 foot 3 new recruit found himself unable to break into the first team on a consistent basis as a result.
It would lead to the 20-year-old being given more minutes in the U21 fold over playing regular Championship football – where he made just two appearances – but he would end up amassing six games for the youthful Black Cats and even scored against Tottenham Hotspur U21s back in October.
In the January transfer window, off the back of his lack of minutes in the first team, it must have been viewed in Triantis' best interests to ship him out on loan to get more first-team experience away from the Stadium of Light.
Looking back now, knowing the dire situation Sunderland find themselves in at the back, this could prove to be a decision held with some regret.
Nectarios Triantis' time at Hibernian
Triantis has slowly but surely worked his way into the Hibernian first team up in Edinburgh, the nomadic youngster notching up eight appearances for the Scottish side since joining on deadline day.
Deployed as a defensive midfielder from at times during his fleeting spell with Hibs to date – making one appearance in that spot – Dodds and Co massively overlooked Triantis' versatility to plug gaps when a crisis crops up.
The towering 6 foot 3 youngster from down-under has excelled in spurts at centre-back away from showing off his eagerness to play wherever suits, winning six duels as an imposing presence versus Aberdeen just last month.
With O'Nien out for another game owing to suspension, alongside Ballard and Seelt being potential long-term casualties to the Stadium of Light treatment room, the powers that be at the Wearside outfit will be wondering why they didn't stick it out with their summer buy in case the injury list at Sunderland did somehow get longer.
Whilst the mood at Sunderland remains sour, Hibs manager Nick Montgomery will just be ecstatic that he has Triantis at his disposal who he has praised for being "versatile" and "strong" since walking into Easter Road as a relative unknown entity on loan.
Sunderland will have to simply make do with what they have when they face off against Queens Park Rangers this Saturday, Dodds praying that a seventh loss on the trot in the league isn't the outcome for his running-on-empty group.