Newcastle United fans will be riding a high after the opening game of their Premier League season. Now, a 2-2 draw against Liverpool means that they got only one point.
Yet, it is being viewed as a positive result. A large part of that is because most of the supporters did not have high hopes coming into the campaign.
The club have seen three of their key players leave alongside long-time manager Eddie Howe. But Matthias Jaissle was able to raise hopes around the future on opening day.
It is not all positive though. There is some worrying news for the Magpies on the injury front as a key player is going to spend some decent amount of time out injured on the sidelines.
Sky Sports journalist confirms Newcastle United injury
According to Keith Downie, Dan Burn is expected to be out until the September/October international break with his ankle injury. The issue isn’t too serious but the centre-back is set to miss the next 4-5 games.
So, will this cause Newcastle United to dip into the transfer market for another centre-back? The answer is negative. As Downie reports, it’s unlikely that the Magpies will delve into the transfer market to cover for Burn while he’s out injured, as it is seen as a short-term issue.
Even then, missing four or five games is no small matter, especially at the start of the season. Newcastle United need to make a fast start to the Jaissle era and put their best foot forward.
The draw against Liverpool was most certainly a positive step in that direction. And they achieved that without Burn, who had suffered his injury in training and not in in-game action.
Dan Burn injury is a blow for Newcastle
That being said, one needs to recognise that Burn is still an important part of this team. So, it would be a boost for the Magpies whenever he is able to return.
It looks like that won’t happen until the upcoming international break. Let’s see how the team holds up defensively without Burn to rely on.
In the game against Liverpool, it was a starting centre-back duo of Malick Thiaw and Sven Botman. And for the most part, they did well.
Botman deserves special credit for the performance he put in. That is because he had looked completely out of sorts in pre-season. But on the day against Liverpool, he stepped up and did his job.
