Rafael Benitez is awaiting the return of Florian Lejeune to the starting lineup.
Newcastle’s season has kicked into gear in the last few weeks, with Benitez’s side recording their first two wins, against Watford and Bournemouth respectively.
The Spaniard won’t be happy until one man is back healthy, however.
Lejeune joined the Magpies from Eibar last summer, signing a four-year deal. Forming an impressive partnership with Jamal Lascelles, a serious knee injury sustained in the preseason stalled the 27-year-old’s long-term transition to English football.
The Frenchman has recovered at a remarkable pace, and is already kicking footballs in training again.
Speaking to the Chronicle, Benitez said:
He was an important player for us, and after he’d settled down you could see his quality on the ball,
He showed composure on the ball. He gave confidence to our other defenders. We have Federico Fernandez now at the moment but to have a player like Lejeune who can pass the ball really well and play long passes and switch play gives us something more. It gives you more in possession and sometimes we are missing that,
Simply put, Newcastle have loads of centre backs. In addition to Lejeune, Lascelles and Fernandez, Ciaran Clark and Fabian Schar round out one of the deeper positional groups in the Premier League.
With Lejeune healthy again, Benitez may opt to cash in on one of his defensive options.
