According to The Chronicle, Matty Longstaff has suffered the recurrence of a thigh injury that kept him out of the final few games of 2019/20.
This is believed to be the reason he sat out Saturday’s 2-1 win over Barnsley, and could now keep him out our last two pre-season friendlies against Middlesbrough and Stoke.
While it’s not yet known how long he will be sidelined, it’s another issue Bruce could’ve done without after Martin Dubravka and Dwight Gayle were both ruled out for at least a few months last week.
Jeff Hendrick and Emil Krafth will also miss our final pre-season fixture of the summer against Stoke, scheduled to take place on the 5th September at St James’ Park, with the duo called up to international duty for the Republic of Ireland and Sweden respectively.
The 28-year-old Irishman is a seasoned international, having played 54 times for his country and is in the squad for their UEFA Nations League ties against Bulgaria on the 3rd September and Finland three days later.
As for Krafth, he has earned 21 caps for Sweden and is set to be involved in their upcoming ties against world champions France on the 5th September and Portugal on the 8th.
Elsewhere, Fabian Schar is expected to be out for another six weeks as he recovers from surgery on his dislocated shoulder.
Hopefully the two on international duty return injury free and Joelinton is back from quarantine for our final friendlies of the summer this week!
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