Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez has confirmed that the club have been left sweating over the injury status of defender and captain Jamaal Lascelles as he is is set to undergo a scan on an ankle blow.
The Magpies were missing their 6’1″ (source: Transfermarkt) powerhouse against Chelsea on Sunday and as the club await to hear about the severity of the issue, he confirmed, as quoted by Sky Sports’ Keith Downie, that Lascelles would be joined on the sidelines by Jonjo Shelvey and Matt Ritchie for the League Cup tie against Nottingham Forest on Wednesday evening.
Jamaal Lascelles, Jonjo Shelvey & Matt Ritchie all set to miss tomorrow’s cup tie against Nottingham Forest. Benitez says Lascelles set to have a scan on his ankle injury.
— Keith Downie (@SkySports_Keith) August 28, 2018
Like Lascelles, Shelvey was also missing for the 2-1 defeat by the Blues, although Ritchie had started the clash as he has every game this season.
Opinion
Luckily for Newcastle this is not a game that really matters to them this season, as those are three of the biggest names they have in their squad. The trio are perhaps the best performers in their respective positions and to lose just one is heavy enough blow, let alone all three. However, it is just a League Cup clash and it gives the missing men time to recover while watching their team mates take their positions in the first team to be given a run out. The news about Lascelles is not good though, as a scan usually suggests that the club have fears it could well be something serious. It might well just be a precaution but with Manchester City up next in the Premier League, they could really do with him back. If the Toon Army saw Ritchie and Shelvey back though, they would probably be satisfied, as they are probably considered more irreplaceable than the centre back.