Newcastle United defender Florian Lejeune has confirmed that he is set to return to the club soon after spending time in Italy to recover from his serious injury.
The Frenchman was ruled out for the rest of the season with his second knee problem in 12 months, the former Eibar missing for much of the first half of the season with an issue suffered last summer.
Taking to his personal Twitter account to deliver a behind-the-scenes update on his recovery, he revealed he would be returning from Italy soon to continue his recovery over the summer and into next season.
Thanks to all for your incredible support during this season, you were truly amazing and carried us through every game.
I'm currently in Italy where I'm working everyday to strengthen my knee. I will be returning in Newcasltle soon.
#bestfans#magpies #toonarmy @nufc ???? pic.twitter.com/e5x1Nsgb7X— Florian Lejeune (@lejeune_florian) May 13, 2019
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Luckily for Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez, he has had a number of options to choose from at the heart of his defence and while losing Lejeune again would have been a bitter pill to swallow, it was not a devastating blow which left the club floundering – as would have been the case had it been Salomon Rondon ruled out. The defender has made what looks to be remarkable progress after his surgery and there may well be the chance he will be back ready to play at some point during the club’s pre-season preparations, which would be a welcome headache for Benitez. With the likes of Fabian Schar, Jamaal Lascelles, Federico Fernandez and Paul Dummett all vying for a role in the starting XI, Lejeune does not want to be playing catch up to his rivals. However, the Frenchman is obviously a favourite of the manager, having been thrown right back in after his last layoff, so maybe he can feel quietly confident of making a similar return when he is fit and firing once again.