Cirkin was restricted to just three starts and eight Premier League appearances in total in what has been an injury disrupted campaign and the 24-year-old is expected to leave the Stadium of Light this summer when his contract expires.
Injuries - particularly the long-standing wrist issue - have cruelly held Cirkin back. A little over a year ago, the full-back was called into the England Under-21 squad after some outstanding Championship displays for Sunderland.
But despite starring in the play-offs for the Black Cats 12 months ago, Sunderland then confirmed last July that Cirkin would miss the start of the Premier League campaign because of his wrist issue.
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After recovering from that injury, Cirkin was also battling a nagging knee issue so didn't make his first appearance of the season until December 28 when he played the full 90 minutes of the home draw with Leeds.
With Reinildo away at the African Cup of Nations, Cirkin would start the next two games against Manchester City and Tottenham but played just 81 minutes of league football from January 7 onwards.
Even though Sunderland will need a deep squad as they prepare for next season's Europa League campaign, Cirkin is still expected to move on this summer and is unlikely to be short of options, despite his injury struggles of late.
The defender has now undergone further surgery on his wrist issue, though his caption on Instagram suggests it was a planned procedure, with Cirkin revealing he's had some metalwork removed.
He wrote: “Metal out, on the mend #wristtape4life.”
Head coach Regis Le Bris has been reluctant to talk about Cirkin's future when quizzed on the contract situation, saying it was too early for a decision to be made.
But Reinildo has made the left-back berth his own this season and Trai Hume has also been used on that side of the defence when the former Atletico Madrid man has been unavailable.
Dan Ballard has also undergone surgery. After being forced to miss the last three games of the season through suspension following his controversial red card at Wolves, the defender had a procedure on an ankle injury and is expected to be back for pre-season.