The Newcastle United defender may be back in the starting line-up earlier than he had envisaged.
The sight of centre-back Jamaal Lascelles leaving St. James’ Park on crutches is not something Newcastle United fans wanted to see, but the centre-back’s injury may hand a chance to a fellow Magpies defender in the form of Ciaran Clark.
It remains to be seen how serious Lascelles’ ankle problem is and, with yet another international break upon us, Newcastle have a couple of weeks to assess him before the domestic action returns once again.
But if the former Nottingham Forest man is out for any length of time, Clark will get the chance to forge a partnership with summer signing Florian Lejeune – the very player who replaced him in Newcastle’s starting line-up for the last four matches.
Some Newcastle fans questioned that decision when the Frenchman gave away a penalty against Southampton last month. But Lejeune has quickly proved his doubters wrong with some classy displays.
Clark and Lejeune have only managed two brief appearances together in the league and it will be interesting to see how they play together if they are required to do so for a while.
Newcastle have had a wobble in recent weeks but they have the players to ensure a relatively successful first season back in the Premier League. And with Clark potentially returning to the starting XI earlier than previously thought, he will not want to give it up as easily this time round.
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