Asamoah Gyan flies solo for Steve Bruce's striker-stricken Sunderland

Steve Bruce is confident Asamoah Gyan can shoulder sole attacking responsibility at Blackpool tomorrow. In the wake of Darren Bent's £24m defection to Aston Villa and the long-term knee injuries sidelining Danny Welbeck and Fraizer Campbell, the £13m Ghana international is Sunderland's only fit striker. "Asamoah's wrapped in cotton wool and we're massaging every bit of his body to make sure he's OK," said Bruce, who will revert to a 4-5-1 formation. Fortunately Gyan, who arrived from Rennes in August, revels in a solitary role. "Asamoah has played all his career as a lone striker for his country and his clubs," said Sunderland's manager. Two forwards are expected to be signed before the transfer window closes and Bruce has agreed a £3m fee with Stoke City for Ricardo Fuller, the gifted but injury-prone Jamaica striker. "It takes time to come from another country and be a hit but Asa has scored more goals than Bent from open play. He's a good player and now he's our only striker. He'll relish the responsibility. We're sixth in the league and chasing Europe and I'm determined Darren's going won't derail our season. As a club we're bigger than one player and we will move forward again." Although Bruce acknowledges Sunderland played "arguably our best football" when Bent briefly operated as the vanguard of a 4-5-1 formation earlier this season he is more interested in players than configurations – "systems are systems, I'm not really a big tactician," he said – and intends to play 4-4-2 when Welbeck recovers from knee surgery. "When Danny Welbeck is fit again he will play with Asa," he said. "There was no fallout between Asa and Darren but I believe Danny's more suited to playing with Gyan than Bent. And, without this being sour grapes, our best performance of the season [a win at Chelsea] came when Bent wasn't playing." Bruce knows he must do his utmost to keep Gyan happy. The striker has struggled to settle in the north-east and was disappointed to see Sunderland's injuries force the cancellation of his winter break in Africa.