I don't know the exact details of his injury or fitness but I very much doubt they thought he was 100% crocked as they were still offering him a contract, what I do know was,
He was offered a new contract, his agent was a complete knob asking for way more. We came back with an improved offer which he was prepared to sign, however he got injured.
Sunderland then took that offer off the table till they knew the extent of his recovery .
How he recovered from his injury and what his fitness was I have no idea, but we had all his data of everything he can and can't do, there was maybe something in that , that caused concern or maybe we were just being cautious.
Then the original offer was again on the table , but this time we wanted clauses put in to cover ourselves.
It was up to Southampton to do a medical which they did and I personally don't think there were any underlying issues we held from them.
In the end we got a 10 million transfer fee and RS got a very good contract. Like I've said before both parties benefited which was the best outcome in the situation