Newcastle United winger Christian Atsu has been ruled of the remainder of the season after undergoing a knee operation, according to the Shields Gazette.
He will now miss his side’s final three matches of the season with Rafa Benitez’s men now well clear of safety.
Atsu joined the club from Chelsea last summer and boosted some strong early season form but has since struggled to make an impact and has been largely on the bench in recent weeks.
The arrival of Kenedy in January has made it tough for him to gain much game time and he has only scored two goals following his permanent move last summer.
The Magpies face Watford on Saturday in a match which has very little significance, as both sides look ahead to another season of Premier League football next term with both their safeties secure.
Benitez explained the situation with Atsu at his press conference ahead of the game against Watford:
Atsu has had an operation on his knee to be sure that he will be fine for the next year. It wasn’t a big issue, but he had some discomfort, and we needed to fix the problem now to be sure that next year he’s fine.
