Newcastle United’s injury curse is spreading like wildfire.
After losing their three most influential attackers, with Allan Saint-Maximin, Miguel Almiron and Callum Wilson forced to watch on from the sidelines during Sunday’s dire goalless draw with West Brom, one of Steve Bruce’s transfer targets appears to have kicked a ball for the final time in 2020/21.
When Faouzi Ghoulam will be seen again is anyone’s guess.
The Algeria international collapsed to the turf after just 22 minutes during Napoli’s 3-1 victory over Bologna on Sunday. The diagnosis? An anterior cruciate ligament rupture, an injury that will keep him out of action for “many months” (Explica).
The tragedy is, after a couple of injury-hit years, Ghoulam had shown signs of rediscovering the form that made him one of Europe’s top left-backs during Rafa Benitez’s time in charge at the Stadio San Paolo.
It remains to be seen whether the 30-year-old can bounce back once again following another long spell on the sidelines.
Ghoulam underwent surgery on Monday, according to Napoli’s website.
A few weeks ago, La Buteur reported Newcastle saw Ghoulam as the ideal addition to their defensive ranks, particularly with summer signing Jamal Lewis struggling to establish himself as the Magpies’ first-choice left-back.
It’s safe to assume those plans went up in smoke as soon as Ghoulam fell to the San Paolo turf, clutching his knee in agony.
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