Ricky Alvarez's Sunderland career ends in misery

SUNDERLAND flop Ricky Alvarez has kicked his last ball for the Black Cats.

Ricky Alvarez's time as a Black Cat has come to a premature endGETTY

Ricky Alvarez's time as a Black Cat has come to a premature end

The on-loan Inter Milan midfielder is set to miss the rest of the campaign with a knee injury.

Alvarez was confident of turning his move into a permanent deal at the end of the season when he signed for ex-boss Gus Poyet in September. But the 26-year-old has been plagued by fitness problems, managing just five league starts.

Dick Advocaat has no interest in signing Alvarez on a permanent deal if he stays in charge beyond the end of the season, and Sunderland have played down claims from Italy they are tied into a permanent £8m deal for the Argentina international this summer if they stay up.

Advocaat said: "I'm not sure what's going on, but it's not positive. I don't think we'll see him again this season."

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