Newcastle defender Kelland Watts has revealed that he suffered a knee injury during our pre-season training camp in Austria, posting an update on Instagram that confirms he’s undergone surgery.
The 22-year-old – who has had four loan spells in the last three years – was ‘gutted’ to have sustained the injury but is remaining positive about his recovery back home.
Last season, the centre-back was on loan to Wigan where he played a big role in their League one title charge and made 35 appearances in all competitions as the Latics were promoted to the Championship.
While it was unlikely that the Alnwick-born defender would be pushing for a first-team spot, there’s no doubt that Eddie Howe would have been keen to monitor his progress in training and over summer friendlies.
After signing a contract extension in February of this year – lasting until 2024 – there still may be an opportunity for Watts to make a good impression on his new boss and we wish him a speedy recovery.
In reality, we’ll just have to hope this injury isn’t so bad that it denies him a summer loan move to the Championship, as he seems unlikely to be named in our 25-man squad now he’s no longer under the age of 21 – a category that allows players, like Elliot Anderson, to feature without being included in the 25.
