Newcastle United's relegation battle rivals dealt huge blow as star man ruled out for season

The England U21 international, who signed from Chelsea in January 2020, got the season off to a flying start, with his exhilarating performances storming down the right flank capturing the attention of fans and pundits alike.

However, a hamstring tear suffered in mid-December saw the 20-year-old's season stopped in its tracks, and now The Athletic report that the full-back underwent surgery last weekend, which will see him ruled out of action for the rest of the campaign.

The Seagulls' 2-1 loss to Leicester City last weekend sees them sitting perilously in 17th place in the table, one place and one point behind Steve Bruce's Newcastle United who ground out a goalless draw with West Bromwich Albion.

Both sides will be nervously looking over their shoulder at 18th place Fulham, who's recent resurgence has seen them move to the brink of escaping the relegation zone, following a shock 1-0 win against Liverpool at Anfield yesterday afternoon.

Certainly, the relegation battle looks like it could go down to the wire, and the Magpies have crunch games against fellow scrappers Burnley, Brighton and Fulham ahead of them in the coming weeks, with a showdown against the latter set to take place at Craven Cottage on the final day of the season.