England international Adam Johnson will now be available for Sunderland in Wednesday night’s clash with Arsenal having had his court date over child sex offences moved to earlier in the week.
The 27-year-old was last month charged with three counts of sexual activity and one offence of grooming with a girl under the age of 16.
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Adam Johnson charged on three counts of sexual activity with underage girl
The former Manchester City winger was originally scheduled to appear at Peterlee Magistrates on the day of the clash with the Gunners – Wednesday 20 May – but will now appear on Monday 18th, the Daily Mail reports.
This means the midfielder will be available for selection in the first-team squad to face Arsene Wenger’s side, as they look to avoid relegation with just two games remaining.
Rather controversially, the Black Cats opted not to suspend Johnson over the charges, and he has since played a key role in helping his team in their recent four-game unbeaten run.
Dick Advocaat’s side face the unenviable task of needing to take points off Arsenal and Premier League champions Chelsea in their final two fixtures of the season, or rely on other results to go their away, to avoid the drop to the Championship.