Islam Slimani signed for Newcastle United on transfer deadline day but will only be available for 10 games, according to the Daily Mirror.
The newspaper claim that the 29-year-old has a thigh injury that will cause him to miss the games against Crystal Palace and Manchester United, and Slimani is also unavailable for April’s clash against Leicester City.
The Daily Mirror report that as the centre-forward signed on loan from the Foxes, he cannot play in the game against his parent club.
This means that, with 25 matches of the league season already played, Slimani will be available for a maximum of 10 games if the forward’s recovery stays on track, which implies Rafa Benitez is taking a huge gamble on the player’s fitness.
Slimani was the only forward signed by the Magpies in the transfer window, and will be expected to help solve the club’s goalscoring problem that has left them in a relegation dogfight.
Newcastle United have only scored 23 goals in 25 games, which has caused them to be just one point above the relegation zone.
Slimani scored five goals in 17 appearances for Leicester this season, which means he averaged a goal every 129 minutes.
OPINION
This is a huge risk for Benitez to take, especially when the Magpies’ Premier League survival looks like depending on Slimani’s ability to score goals. Joselu and Dwight Gayle have been unable to score the goals needed in the top-flight for Newcastle United this season, and Slimani look like being Newcastle United’s only hope of being fired to safety. The 29-year-old has shown his ability to score goals by scoring five this season, despite playing inconsistently. However, he has to deliver in all of the 10 appearances he will potentially make for his temporary club. This may prove a hard task as Slimani will have to gain match sharpness back instantly following his thigh injury, which is not something he has control over.