Newcastle United drew 0-0 at Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon.
Newcastle United boss Rafael Benitez has told the Shields Gazette that striker Salomon Rondon simply had to come off against Crystal Palace – despite his attempts to play on.
The Magpies travelled to Selhurst Park on Saturday afternoon in search of a first win of the season, having picked up just one point from their first five Premier League games.
After defeats to Tottenham, Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal, Newcastle were looking to pick up points away from the Premier League’s elite, and they did claim a draw at Palace.
Newcastle saw out a 0-0 stalemate, though did somewhat get let off the hook when Mamadou Sakho headed wide with the goal gaping from an Andros Townsend cross.
Newcastle will be pleased with an away point, but there was a piece of bad news as striker Salomon Rondon was substituted at half time in favour of Joselu.
The Venezuelan picked up a knock in the first half, and there are now concerns about whether he will be fit to face Leicester City this coming weekend.
Now, manager Benitez has told the Shields Gazette that Rondon simply couldn’t continue, despite the fact that Rondon himself said he was fine, with the Newcastle boss eventually overruling him and substituting him as he was visibly uncomfortable.
Benitez added that it’s too early to say whether Rondon will play against Leicester, and subbing him wasn’t necessarily a precaution as he simply couldn’t continue.
“He was feeling a little bit tight,” said Benitez. “No, he was not feeling well. It’s not a precaution, as he couldn’t continue. You could see that he was uncomfortable in the first half.”
“It’s too early (to say if he’s doubtful). He said that he was fine. He was feeling a little bit when he was shooting. He said he was fine, but after you could see that he was not comfortable,” he added.
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