Ryan Fraser is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury, keeping him out of Newcastle United’s 2-1 win over Leicester City on April 17 and their 1-0 win over Crystal Palace on April 20. Eddie Howe said the 28-year-old is recovering well but may not return before the season comes to a close.
Frank McAvennie believes ‘there is something wrong’ with Fraser that Newcastle ‘need to fix’, as he’s picked up a lot of injuries in the past when he’s not played a lot of games. He told Football Insider: “Ryan Fraser is a funny one.
“He does have these injury issues. He won’t be playing for Scotland so he can just focus on Newcastle (which) means he’s not playing too much football but is still getting injured. There is something wrong with him and Newcastle need to fix it before next season starts.”
The 28-year-old has played in 26/33 Premier League games this season, scoring two goals with three assists. Fraser has started only 18 league outings (54.5%), amassing 1457 minutes of playing time from a possible 2970 (49%), but he’s been an ever-present in the squad.
McAvennie’s criticism of Fraser’s injury woes apply more to last season, where he made only 18/38 Premier League appearances and spent time on the sidelines due to a hamstring (November – December 2020) and groin problem (December 2020 – January 2021) (April – May 2021).
The Scotland international has been fit for most of the campaign, so Newcastle may have fixed the problem. Fraser’s minutes have been managed, but he’s only been out of the squad four times from the 33 games.
In other news, Newcastle should try to sign Philippe Coutinho
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