A worrying Newcastle United injury setback has emerged on central midfielder Joelinton...
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Eddie Howe has revealed the gruesome extent of the Brazilian's blow and has been unable to rule it out being a major issue heading into the summer.
He suffered a laceration in the 11th minute of the 2-1 win over Burnley on Sunday in the final Premier League match of the campaign and it now remains to be seen how it will impact him ahead of 2022/23.
Injury expert Ben Dinnery quoted Howe as saying: “It didn’t look good. I thought ‘this could be serious’. I think the doctor, initially when he saw him, could see part of his bone, so I think it was quite deep. We knew immediately we had to withdraw him, but he’s in good spirits."
Supporters will be gutted
This blow will surely leave the fans gutted heading into the summer as it could be a big setback for Joelinton heading into next season.
Hopefully, the injury does not disrupt the start of his pre-season or rule him out of any matches next term, but it remains unclear as to the extent of the damage at this moment in time.
Losing him for any period of time would be frustrating for the supporters as he has been a revelation in the middle of the park. He started the campaign playing out wide for Steve Bruce and was then converted into a combative midfielder by Howe and that decision has been a masterstroke by the head coach.
The ex-Hoffenheim man was recently named Newcastle's Player of the Season and this illustrates how highly he is rated by those at the club and in the stands.
In the Premier League, Joelinton averaged an impressive 3.1 tackles and interceptions per game as he won an outstanding 6.9 duels per match. He has shown that he can win the ball back for his side on a consistent basis as he has dominated the midfield for large parts of the campaign.
The 25-year-old has also chipped in with four goals and one assist. Whilst this return may have been an unimpressive one based on where he was previously playing for Newcastle, this is a solid contribution from the machine as he has spent the majority of his time trying to win possession instead of being in the final third.
This is why fans will be gutted by this injury blow as Joelinton is a crucial player for Howe and one they will want to see in action again as soon as possible.