Newcastle manager Steve Bruce says he is hopeful that there is nothing to worry about with Allan Saint-Maximin, after the midfielder suffered an injury scare in Tuesday night’s League Cup win over Blackburn.
Saint-Maximin was brought on in place of Joelinton 73 minutes into the 1-0 victory, which was decided by a debut goal for Ryan Fraser, but the Frenchman was left needing treatment with just minutes remaining in the game, after landing awkwardly while going in for a challenge.
It seems however, as though Bruce is not particularly concerned about the 23-year-old’s fitness situation.
Speaking about Saint-Maximin after the game, Bruce told the Shields Gazette: “Yeah we think he’s ok. It’s a bit of a knock, we think. At this stage we think there’s nothing to worry about.”
Next for the Magpies is a return to Premier League action on Sunday afternoon, as they host Brighton and Hove Albion at St James’ Park in their first home league game of the season.
As a result, the fact that Saint-Maximin’s injury does not appear to be anything too serious will surely be a big relief to anyone of a Newcastle persuasion.
Having shown plenty of flashes of brilliance last season, it does look as though Saint-Maximin is going to be a key player for Bruce’s side in the coming campaign, having started in last weekend’s opening day win at West Ham.
Indeed, Sunday’s clash with Brighton is likely to be one that Newcastle will look at as a decent opportunity to pick up another three points as they attempt to build momentum at the start of the campaign, and having Saint-Maximin available for that game will surely put them in a stronger position to do just that.