Today’s FA Cup tie which ended 1-1 against fellow Championship side Birmingham City was tainted throughout most of the game by the injury to Newcastle United striker Aleksandar Mitrovic in the early minutes.
At first it was feared to be a serious injury to the forward with most fearing a diagnosis of a broken leg, or even a cruciate ligament injury, after being stretchered off, which would keep Mitrovic on the sidelines for many weeks.
United fans will be relieved to find that it was just a deep cut to the leg which landed the striker in hospital. The club are still waiting for more information before confirming an expected return date, but it is not looking to be as serious as fans first thought it to be.
Twitter: Mitrovic in hospital. Deep cut to the leg. #nufc still waiting for more details. (@lee_ryder)
Even if Mitrovic has sustained a serious long-term injury, it does not look like this would have seen Rafa Benitez alter his transfer plans for the January window. Benitez told reporters in his post-match press conference Newcastle are targeting additions and no more will be signed as a result of Mitrovic’s injury.
Twitter: Rafa says #nufc transfer plans have not changed because of Mitrovic injury. They were always in the market for more players. (@lee_ryder)
There has been growing speculation in recent weeks regarding Rafa bringing in much needed attacking reinforcements to continue the club’s promotion push. Tom Cleverley of Everton, Fabian Delph of Manchester City and Ruben Loftus-Cheek of Chelsea are among the current favourites to sign for Newcastle.
