Newcastle United midfielder Sean Longstaff left the London Stadium on crutches after the 2-0 defeat to West Ham on Saturday, according to reliable journalist Lee Ryder.
The journalist – who covers the Magpies for the Chronicle – claims on his personal Twitter account that the 21-year-old star, who was taken off at half time for Mo Diame, departed the Hammers on crutches in a worrying injury update for boss Rafa Benitez.
Longstaff was involved in a crunching tackle with Irons midfielder Robert Snodgrass in the first half, which he was then booked for.
Sean Longstaff leaving the ground on crutches ?#nufc
— Lee Ryder (@lee_ryder) March 2, 2019
Benitez then provided an update on the youngster – as relayed by Ryder – saying that he will be assessed in the coming days.
Rafa on Longstaff: “We will have to assess him in the next few days.” #nufc
— Lee Ryder (@lee_ryder) March 2, 2019
OPINION
If Longstaff does end up being injured for Newcastle, then it will be a shattering blow for Benitez and the team. His contribution has been invaluable recently and the fact he could be injured is not good news for them in the slightest. Some may argue that it was his fault that he went in quite hard with the tackle on Snodgrass, which is where he most likely got hurt from. Either way, leading up to that point, Longstaff did not look his usual self, and he looked overran in the middle of the park on Saturday. This is surprising given that he has not had a bad game for them so far, but then again, he cannot be consistent all of the time. Perhaps this was a wake-up call for Longstaff to not be so reckless when it comes to making tackles, something which he is usually rather spot on with.