Many Newcastle United supporters have flocked to a tweet from the Chronicle’s Lee Ryder in which he reports that Martin Dubravka has been withdrawn from the Slovakia squad for next month due to injury.
He also goes on to say that according to the Slovakian FA, he is expected to be out for ‘several weeks‘ and with the Premier League due to kick off on September 12th this is bad news for Steve Bruce.
The 31-year-old signed for the Magpies back in July 2018 from Sparta Praha in a deal reportedly worth £3.6m (as per Transfermarkt.co.uk). Here is how a sample of the St. James’ Park faithful have responded to the update on the social media platform.
Great, so the player that won more points than any other last season is out. This does not bode well. Only #nufc can go from such heady dreams of the takover to the pits of Hades in just a few short weeks.
— Kev H (@DeKuip02) August 27, 2020
Great ! Lets start the season with that Sunday league keeper we just bought …
— TedSky10 (@GallowgateXI) August 27, 2020
This is shaping up to be the worst season in the history of Newcastle United
— Funnyc (@Funnyc16) August 27, 2020
Odds on to go down now? No striker or Dubravka for the first 5 or 6 games probably means no points…. #nufc
— Andrew Neill (@andrewsneill) August 27, 2020
Is Newcastle United's season falling apart already?
Yes
No
It’s clear from the above responses that these supporters are concerned by Dubravka’s injury, highlighting how important he is in the eyes of the fans.
Last season, the goalkeeper’s average performance rating in the Premier League was 6.72/10 according to WhoScored.com, making him Newcastle’s joint-eighth-best player last season, therefore, you can understand the fans’ disappointment at the news.
Let’s just forget all about this season we know how it’s going to end.
— In the shadows. (@intheshadows38) August 27, 2020
Half our squad will be out injured before the season even starts ??
— Mark ???? (@MarkMazzocchi) August 27, 2020
Falling apart already
— Toon Mad (@stuartymck) August 27, 2020
The Magpies kick off their Premier League campaign with a trip to West Ham United on the opening day of the 2020/21 season and will be hoping they won’t be without Dubravka for too long.