Jamaal Lascelles was only involved in the dying minutes of Newcastle United’s win over Derby on Saturday.
Rafael Benitez has explained that a groin problem was the reason that Jamaal Lascelles did not start Newcastle’s victory over Derby at the weekend, the Shields Gazette reports.
DeAndre Yedlin labels teammate’s return to the Newcastle side huge
Lascelles has been a stalwart of the Magpies side this term, only missing one game in the Championship. And with the skipper playing the full 90 minutes in the midweek draw with Queens Park Rangers, it would have perhaps been a surprise to supporters when they saw that the centre-back had been left on the bench for the clash with the Rams.
Newcastle United’s Jamaal Lascelles
That confusion may have been enhanced when Benitez brought the 23-year-old on for the dying minutes of the game as he was clearly fit enough to play some part in the contest.
But Benitez has put any potential rumours to bed by insisting that they took a precautionary stance with their captain.
“He’s fine. He’s just had a little bit of discomfort in his groin,” he said, as reported by the Shields Gazette.
“We also wanted to protect him and Grant was training well.
Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez
“We’re happy, because in the end we gave an opportunity to Hanley and rested Jamaal.”
With two tough away games in quick succession on the horizon for Newcastle, it arguably makes sense that Benitez would look to protect Lascelles as not having him available for those games would have been more detrimental to their chances of pulling away from the chasing pack.
And with Benitez insisting that the youngster has come through unscathed, while the team kept a clean sheet, it is fair to say that the decision to rest him for the majority of the game has paid off.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
