'I'm gutted for him' - Former Callum Wilson teammate reacts to major blow for Newcastle United striker

Magpies head coach Steve Bruce confirmed the 28-year-old is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines after limping off during the 3-2 win over Southampton at the weekend.

Fabian Schar and Javier Manquillo are also ruled out for a similar period but Wilson, United’s top scorer with 10 goals, is the absence most feared by supporters.

Former Bournemouth captain Francis, who played with Wilson at the Vitality Stadium for six years, was appearing live on Sky Sports when the news broke.

And while he is gutted for his former teammate on a personal level, Francis believes wins against Everton and the Saints has provided breathing space at the bottom of the table for Newcastle whilst Wilson misses the action.

Heading into Monday night’s match at Chelsea, Bruce’s men are 10 points clear of the relegation zone, though 18th place Fulham do have a game in-hand.

“I’m gutted for him,” Francis said.

"The way he has been performing for them (Newcastle), he’s been their talisman at times, he's been the main focus for goals even tough games when they haven’t looked like scoring he has taken the chances and got the points they needed.

"Now, for him to be out of action for a number of games at this end of the season is going to be a real blow.

"They’d be worried if they hadn't won the two games against Everton and Southampton, I think then they’d be looking at the teams below trying to catch them and certainly the bottom three would have been thinking the same but they’ve got a little bit of breathing space.

"No doubt, with Callum being out injured for a number of games is going to felt through that football club. Who’s going to come in and replace him? Will it be Joelinton or maybe Almiron might play down the middle.

"It’ll be interesting to see with Dwight Gayle also in the picture, so we’ll see over the coming weeks how they can adapt to that.”