Sunderland withdraw Irish star Thornton

Sunderland have withdrawn midfielder Sean Thornton from the Republic of Ireland’s World U20 Cup squad.

Thornton made his Sunderland debut in Tuesday’s FA Cup third-round replay win over Bolton at the Stadium of Light and his performance was good enough for manager Howard Wilkinson to pull him out of international duty.

Wilkinson told the club’s official website, www.safc.com: “That was the first full game I’ve seen Sean in and I must say it was a very promising and mature performance.

“He’s certainly a player we want to keep an eye on and bring on but it’s now up to him to show he can produce that standard consistently.”