Kieran Trippier fractured a bone in his foot in Newcastle United’s 1-0 win over Aston Villa on Sunday, forcing Eddie Howe to substitute him in the 48th minute for Emil Krafth.
The 31-year-old has been ruled him out of action for the foreseeable future after scans showed a fracture to the fifth metatarsal bone in his left foot and Jermaine Jenas called the news ‘disastrous’ because he’s an ‘excellent’ and ‘calming’ player.
He wrote in his BBC Sport column: “It is disastrous for Newcastle that Kieran Trippier’s foot injury is a serious one – yes, he is already that important to them.
“(He’s) scored a couple of excellent goals for Newcastle (and is a) calming influence to have around you on the pitch, with or without the ball. (He’s) highly thought of at Newcastle already.”
Trippier joined Newcastle on a two-and-a-half-year deal from Atletico Madrid in early-January and has made five appearances across the board, scoring two goals. The England international has been a regular and quickly impressed at St James’ Park, but now he’ll be sidelined for a number of weeks.
In his stead, Howe will have to choose between Krafth and Javier Manquillo at right-back. Newcastle travel to face West Ham United on Saturday, so Trippier’s absence may be felt. It’s also unknown whether he’ll be back in time to see the season out, so a great start to life in the North-East has now turned into a nightmare.
In other news, Gary Neville gives verdict on ‘brilliant’ Newcastle performance
