Following Newcastle’s 3-2 win over Oxford United, Steve Bruce has admitted that he is concerned about Joelinton’s fitness.
The Brazilian striker scored the second goal of the game for the Magpies, however, he was withdrawn through injury shortly afterwards, with eventual match-winner Allan Saint-Maximin coming on in his place.
Speaking after the game, Bruce couldn’t reveal anything about Joelinton’s condition, although he claimed that he hopes the forward hasn’t cracked a rib.
As reported by the Northern Echo, Bruce said:
We missed a bit of a focal point when Jo went off, and that sums our luck up.
He makes one, scores one, and then he has to come off. Let’s hope he hasn’t cracked a rib or damaged a rib. We’ll have to see.
Bruce recently provoked the ire of the fan base by bemoaning his lack of central attacking options at the club at this moment in time, with Dwight Gayle, Andy Carroll and Yoshinori Muto all injured.
Several supporters admonished the former Aston Villa boss, claiming that if he was concerned about his options up front, he should have made more movement in the January transfer window.
Following the news of Joelinton’s injury, a number of fans once again brought up the point on social media, with Newcastle now having zero fit senior strikers.
Twitter: @NUFC Good job we signed a forward in Jan otherwise we’d have 0 fit forwards that would be embarrassing (@agbnufc)
Twitter: @NUFC Good job we brought a striker in last month isn’t it…… (@Youngin_91)
Twitter: @NUFC At least we bought a striker in the transfer window, eh? (@DeathsquadNUFC)
Twitter: @NUFC Not a single striker in the squad fit ? (@JoshCooke9)
Twitter: @NUFC Now the other two strikers have a chance to prove their worth. Oh wait …… (@Libiguin)
