Newcastle United injury 'silver lining' after £40m duo ruled out for six months

Jamaal Lascelles believes there is a ‘silver lining’ to Newcastle United’s serious double ACL injury blow.

The Newcastle captain was ruled out for six to nine months after rupturing his ACL in the early stages of the 4-3 win over West Ham United. The week prior, Sven Botman was ruled out for the same period with a very similar injury.

While it is undoubtedly a massive blow to Newcastle to lose two key defenders until late 2024, the isolation that often comes with serious injuries is something that the duo will help each other avoid.

“Sven Botman suffered a similar injury just a matter of days previous and the silver lining is that we can both go through our rehabilitation together,” Lascelles admitted in his programme column. “Over the last few days, we've been ringing each other a lot, asking how each other's nights have been.

“He's about a week ahead of me so I can get an idea of where I'll be in a few days time; we're not comparing because everyone's different, but it is reassuring to go through it with somebody.

“We're both pretty resilient and we'll help each other through the process and come out even stronger at the end of it. Sadly I can't help the team on the pitch any more this season but I'll be doing everything I can to help off it.”

It was recently confirmed that Lascelles had triggered an extension in his contract at Newcastle until the summer of 2025 as he hopes to return to full fitness by the end of the year.