Newcastle United midfielder Jonjo Shelvey will jet out to Barcelona to see a specialist about a thigh injury with threatens to derail his season, according to Daily Mail.
The newspaper report that the 26-year-old star has been affected by the injury since November, with the muscle flaring up after games, including after his substitute appearance against Blackburn at the weekend.
The Mail claim that Shelvey visited the same specialist in December but the issue has remained and is poised to become a major worry for Newcastle boss Rafa Benitez.
OPINION
This is a serious blow for Newcastle with Shelvey quite obviously struggling badly to manage this recurring thigh injury. Rafa Benitez has already lost Ki Sung-yueng to the Asian Cup for most of January, while fellow midfielder Isaac Hayden has made it very clear he wishes to leave the club this month. With Shelvey injured that may leave Benitez with very few, if any, options in the centre of midfield. One thing that is for sure is that academy star Sean Longstaff is likely to get the biggest chance of his career in the coming weeks with Benitez struggling for numbers in midfield. Longstaff has only made a handful of first-team appearances for the club since making his debut earlier this season, but is surely set for a more prominent role with Shelvey set to be sidelined for some of their upcoming games. Benitez will hope that the youngster rises to the occasion and stakes his claim for a regular role after penning a new deal a few months ago.