Newcastle captain Jamaal Lascelles has been ruled out of action for up to three months after suffering a knee injury in his side's win over Bournemouth on the weekend.
The centre-back collided with goalkeeper Martin Dubravka in only the second minute of the match. Lascelles was eventually forced off after 20 minutes, despite his best efforts to carry on. The positive was that the Englishman was able to hobble off the field and didn't require a stretcher.
The Sun now claim that, following Saturday's victory, the defender underwent scans to determine the extent of the injury. The results showed ligament damage and the 26-year-old could now be missing for as long as two to three months.
This will be a major cause for concern for manager Steve Bruce, as he prepares for a busy Christmas period.
The Newcastle captain has been a key figure for the club, starting every Premier League match so far this season, scoring once. However, the Sun go on to mention that defender Florian Lejeune will be returning from a long-term injury soon, which will provide cover in the position.
To that end, centre backs Ciaran Clark and Federico Fernandez have been in fine form recently, with Clark scoring twice in two matches, while Fernandez also popped up with a goal in the Magpies' victory over West Ham.
The team's most recent win over the Cherries has seen Bruce's men climb to 13th in the table, having now picked up 15 points from their opening 12 matches. After the international break, the club face a trip to take on Aston Villa before hosting Manchester City.
With the fixtures beginning to come around more frequently as the turn of the year approaches, the news of Lascelles' injury will come as a major blow for the manager and the squad.
Source: 90min
