Loads of Newcastle United fans have been reacting on social media, after head coach Steve Bruce gave an update on Joelinton’s fitness following Tuesday night’s FA Cup Fourth Round Replay win over Oxford United.
Joelinton opened the affair at the Kassam Stadium and proved to be one of the stars of the show early on, as the 23-year-old bounced back from a missed chance to slot home a tidy finish for only his third Toon goal in all competitions.
The strike could have served as a much-needed confidence boost for the Brazilian, who is without a Premier League goal in his last 22 top-flight games having fired blanks in each encounter since our matchday three win over Tottenham Hotspur.
But that was not to be the case, as our £40million club-record signing was forced off the field on 37 minutes, with Bruce confirming that Joelinton had suffered an upper-body injury.
“We missed a bit of a focal point when Jo went off and that sums our luck up,” the boss said, via quotes by the Chronicle’s Ciaran Kelly.
“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.”
Has the winter break come at the perfect time?
Yes, gives our strikers a chance to recover
No, we should have bought someone in January
Joelinton had been firmly in amongst the action before his early withdrawal, with the former TSG Hoffenheim man creating Sean Longstaff’s 15th-minute opening effort as the Magpies sought to secure our progression into the Fifth Round.
The Brazilian also took 17 touches, made seven accurate passes, won two of four ground duels, contested six aerial battles, made one clearance and two successful tackles, per Sofa Score data.
Here are some of the messages shared as fans reacted to Bruce’s remark on Joelinton being crocked against Oxford…
Bruce it’s your fault
— adam thompson (@histonadam85) February 5, 2020
I’d swap him for Oxfords Holland in a heartbeat.
— Stew Mason (@stew_mason) February 5, 2020
Imagine we didnt sign a replacement in the window, cudda been a right banana skin that – oh wait !!!
— David Robson (@dagvidjunior) February 4, 2020
He played very well up to the injury, gutted for the lad, hope it’s nothing serious
— Rich Miller〽️⚫️⚪️Nufc⚫️⚪️ (@Rich1982Miller) February 4, 2020
And he was in agony when scoring the goal, but still grafted,
— john williams (@johnaw19) February 5, 2020
Hopefully nowt serious, good performance tonight by joe
— ShelveyGoat (@ShelveyGoat) February 4, 2020
Oh well not like we are going to miss him anyway.
— DiscoDan (@DiscoDan18) February 4, 2020
Just as well we didn’t need a striker few days ago 🥵
— craigcoozy (@thelittlemans) February 5, 2020
In other Newcastle United news, a fierce rival is monitoring a young Toon talent ahead of a potential summer swoop.