Steve Bruce claims Jamaal Lascelles’ knee injury is not nearly as bad as first feared – and believes Ciaran Clark will be fit to face Aston Villa, despite suggestions he’d miss out with a hamstring issue.
The skipper hobbled off in our 2-1 win over Bournemouth, and those worrying signs were followed by reports he was set to miss three months, however Bruce now says he could be back in as little as 4 weeks.
Knee ligament damage was feared – hence talk he was out until 2020 – but Bruce has now revealed that it’s a ‘fracture’, also claiming that Ciaran Clark should be fit to start on Monday.
Here’s what he’s had to say on both, starting with Lascelles:
“It is a fracture and that sounds awful but it is not as bad as we first feared.
“When I saw his knee, I thought he had done his cruciate.
“We all thought it was ligaments.
“But (instead) he has a crack on the outside of his leg and it could be a month to six weeks.”
Bruce then commented on Ciaran Clark, suggesting he’ll “be okay” for Monday night if he comes through training over the next 48 hours:
“I think he’ll be okay. He’s not trained today but he’ll train on Saturday and Sunday if it comes through he’ll be in with a chance,”
“He’s done great has Ciaran, I’m delighted for him.”
The fact we have Fernandez, Dummett and both Schar and Lejeune back from injury meant that issues at centre-back were the least of our concerns, but this is a surprisingly positive update on Lascelles and Clark.
Lascelles was expected to be out for months according a recent club statement, while a ‘hamstring’ issue for the in-form Clark had most thinking he’d almost certainly miss Monday’s trip to Aston Villa.
That said, I have a feeling Clark won’t be risked and it may come too soon for Lejeune – who will be lacking match sharpness – meaning we could see a back three of Schar, Fernandez and Dummett next week.