Newcastle United defender Florian Lejeune has handed the Magpies a hammer blow after confirming that he is set to sit the majority of the season on the sidelines after suffering an injury blow.
The French centre back, who was a summer signing from Eibar last summer, established himself as a regular at the heart of defence in his first season at St James’ Park alongside captain Jamaal Lascelles, but will be missing from action after revealing ligament damage which requires surgery.
Writing on his personal Instagram account, Lejeune gave the full details of the injury and expected recovery, with a significant spell on the sidelines in store.
He said: “During my last training session, I left the field due to an injury. After further medical examination, the doctor told me I have an anterior cruciate ligament injury. I’ll have surgery in the next few days. This injury will certainly keep me away from the pitch during a good part of the season.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/Blz3BVyAoKA/?hl=en&taken-by=florianlejeune20
Opinion
The one thing that Newcastle could hardly afford this summer was a serious injury blow to one of their star men, but that is exactly what has happened. Had it been someone like Ciaran Clark, who acts as backup to the first team, then Rafael Benitez could have found a cheap option to plug the gap, perhaps a loan, but now he is having to keep an eye out for a player of a much higher calibre. Fabian Schar has been brought in but he was more of a replacement for Chancel Mbemba, which still leaves a void in the heart of defence. With a couple of weeks left until the transfer window slams shut, Benitez is going to have to accelerate his plans and find someone to take Lejeune’s place in the squad, or risk being left vulnerable in case of more injuries and/or suspensions. The likes of Josef Yarney have featured in pre-season, but asking the youngster to step up into the senior side competitively is another matter entirely.