Newcastle have been hit by a hammer blow as an update on Javier Manquillo's injury situation has been dropped...

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According to The Chronicle, the Spaniard is unlikely to be fit enough to play against West Ham in the Premier League this weekend.

The report claims that he has suffered ligament damage in his ankle and is set to be absent on Saturday, following on from Kieran Trippier's broken foot that will see him miss a number of weeks.

Newcastle will be fuming

Eddie Howe will surely be left fuming by this news as it means that he has lost his two first-choice right-backs in the same week.

Trippier's knock was a gigantic blow for the Magpies as he has been sublime since making his move to the club from Atletico Madrid in January. Newcastle are unbeaten in his four Premier League appearances and he has averaged a WhoScored rating of 7.87. He has produced two goals and managed 24 tackles and interceptions in that time, showing that he has had a big impact at both ends of the pitch.

Therefore, Howe was already rocked by one major issue and now he has to deal with another setback because of Manquillo's apparent unavailability. The Spanish defender has averaged a score of 6.61 in the top-flight, which places him seventh in the squad overall and shows that he is nowhere near the standard of the English international.

However, there is another drop-off between him and the player who could now be forced to play at right-back against the Hammers - Emil Krafth. The Sweden international has averaged a dismal WhoScored rating of 6.33 for the Magpies, proving that he has been nowhere near good enough for Steve Bruce or Howe.

He is ranked as the 24th player in the squad in terms of WhoScored ratings, which is 17 places lower than Manquillo. Whereas, Trippier is only six places above the ex-Liverpool full-back and this suggests that this injury update is a hammer blow for Howe as he could be left with little option but to select Krafth, who is far worse than his other two right-backs.

The dud's performances this season suggest that he will be a liability against West Ham if he is in the starting XI on Saturday and this is what will leave Howe fuming ahead of the match. He will surely be hoping that Manquillo is able to return to training next week and be available for their clash with Brentford.

AND in other news, £9.8m wasted: "Out of his depth" Newcastle dud has been taking liberties for 131 weeks...