It seems likely that Ciaran Clark will drop out of Newcastle United’s team at the weekend, unless Jamaal Lascelles doesn’t recover in time.
Newcastle were beaten on penalties by Leicester City last night, after a 1-1 draw in normal time.
Leicester named a very strong line-up for the cup match, but Newcastle matched them all the way.
And Bruce was very impressed by his three central defenders.
“I thought the back three were immense in the circumstances,” he said.
“Very, very pleased with a lot of the stuff.”
Bruce now faces a selection dilemma over who he plays at the back in Newcastle’s next game.
Newcastle are due to take on Watford in their upcoming Premier League match, but injuries are complicating things.
It seems likely that Jamaal Lascelles will return to Newcastle’s starting line-up if he recovers from injury, which could see Clark miss out.
Fernandez may well have a chance of starting though, if Bruce sticks to his five at the back system.
With both Matt Ritchie and Emil Krafth picking up injuries last night, Paul Dummett may have to be switched to left wing-back, which potentially opens up a slot for Fernandez in the Magpies’ starting team.
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