Confirmation of fitness problems picked up by key players at both Newcastle United and Crystal Palace has been forthcoming online on Tuesday.
Lewis & McCarthy concerns
The first comes in the form of Magpies star Jamal Lewis.
Left-back Lewis of course only made the move to St. James’ Par from Norwich City during the summer.
However, he has already gone on to establish himself as an undisputed member of Steve Bruce’s backline.
The 22-year-old has featured in all 4 of Newcastle’s Premier League outings thus far, helping the Geordie outfit to a solid 7-point haul.
As such, the news that Lewis is struggling for fitness will no doubt come as a concern for Bruce and co.
The versatile stopper has been forced to depart international duty with Northern Ireland early, to undergo tests on an Achilles injury:
Injury scare for #NUFC as Jamal Lewis is forced to drop out of international duty with Northern Ireland to have a scan on his injured Achilles….https://t.co/AzNHqLxk73
— Scott Wilson (@Scottwilsonecho) October 13, 2020
The 2nd individual to have been ruled out of his country’s next outing, meanwhile, is James McCarthy.
Republic of Ireland international McCarthy is another to have enjoyed a fine start to the season at club level, starting and impressing alongside namesake James McArthur at the heart of Crystal Palace’s midfield in all of the club’s Premier League fixtures.
However, as confirmed by Ireland this evening, the 29-year-old has picked up an unspecified injury problem, and will therefore play no part versus Finland on Wednesday evening.
Palace now face an anxious wait to discover the extent of McCarthy’s problem:
TEAM NEWS | James McCarthy ruled out
McCarthy has been ruled out of the Finland match through injury but everyone else who travelled is fit and available for selection #COYBIG | #FINIRL pic.twitter.com/IBL7nnI4u9
— FAIreland ⚽️🇮🇪 (@FAIreland) October 13, 2020
PL woes pile up
These injuries come as just the latest in a string of fitness concerns picked up by Premier League stars whilst on international duty over the last week.
The hectic nature of the early season fixture list has begun to take its toll, as fatigue hits home across the board.
Kevin De Bruyne, Edouard Mendy, Ben Chilwell and Sergio Reguilon are just some of the high-profile names from the English top-flight to have handed their respective clubs a scare.
UPDATE: @DeBruyneKev returned to his club. He couldn’t be fit enough to play against Iceland.
— Belgian Red Devils (@BelRedDevils) October 12, 2020
This is of course not to mention those who have picked up Covid-19, with Liverpool’s Naby Keita over the weekend having joined the growing list of Premier League players to have returned a positive test.
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Confirmation of fitness problems picked up by key players at both Newcastle United and Crystal Palace has been forthcoming online on Tuesday. Lewis & McCarthy concerns The first comes in the form of Magpies star Jamal Lewis. Left-back Lewis of course only made the move to St. James’ Par from Norwich City during the summer.Football (soccer) greatest goals and highlights | 101 Great Goals – Feed