Last weekend, Newcastle United were able to overcome losing Javier Manquillo, Fabian Schar, and Callum Wilson to injuries against Southampton. But, it was much easier to cope with those absences for less than a full match than it will be now that we know the extent of the injuries.
Earlier this week, it was revealed that Fabian Schar would be out for multiple months with a significant knee injury, not surprising when you recall his immediately visible pain and the fact that he was stretchered off. Unfortunately, the other two players are worse off than expected.
Steve Bruce announced that both Manquillo and Wilson will be out an extended period of time. Manquillo’s injury is to his ankle ligaments, which kept Matt Ritchie out for a long time after a Hamza Choudhury tackle in 2019. Wilson has a tear in his hamstring and both players could miss at least eight weeks.
The loss of Manquillo is unfortunate, but Emil Krafth and Jacob Murphy should be able to occupy that spot with minimal damage done. On the other end, playing without Wilson will be devastating for the Magpies.
He’s missed two matches this season in the Premier League and you guessed it, Newcastle lost both and were shutout. His ten goals are more than double the second-most on the club (Miguel Almiron with four). He also leads the club in assists with five.
No matter which striker Bruce turns to for the next two months potentially, they will not be able to fill the void of Wilson. Newcastle held on vs. So’ton without Manquillo, Schar, and Wilson, but it is a much taller task to deal with those losses for eight weeks.