Newcastle United defender Jamaal Lascelles will not be available to face Bournemouth on Saturday.
The Magpies’ captain was taken off during last weekend’s stunning comeback victory over Everton, but Rafael Benitez will not take a chance on bringing him back into the fold due to his continuing knee complaint.
Speaking in a press conference on Friday, as relayed in the Chronicle (13.42), Benitez confirmed the news.
The outlet said: “Jamaal Lascelles ruled out of trip to Bournemouth as Rafa Benitez unwilling to take the risk on his knee injury.”
OPINION
This will be a real blow to Newcastle United in a match that Rafa Benitez will have earmarked as more than winnable. The Magpies are in great form at the moment, and look as of they have really turned a corner in recent weeks, but losing their captain and leader is always going to be an obstacle they could do without. A large part of the success that they have had recently has come as a result of Benitez’s switch to a three at the back, and Lascelles is in many ways the lynchpin of that backline. How Benitez adapts to the game without him remains to be seen of course, but a change in shape would surely be damaging given the momentum that the Toon Army have built up. The only silver lining will be that the superb comeback against the Toffees came after Benitez elected to revert back to a flat back four, and so there may well be hope that his side can replicate that second half performance against the Cherries, even with their captain absent.