Matthias Jaissle is keeping a positive mindset amid Newcastle United‘s mounting injury worries, with the Magpies boss viewing the long list of absentees as an “opportunity” for other members of his squad.
Newcastle suffered their first defeat under Jaissle on Monday as they were emphatically beaten 4-1 by Leeds United at Elland Road.
Winger Anthony Elanga missed the game due a hamstring injury sustained in training, while Jacob Ramsey suffered a thigh injury in the warm-up. Newcastle were hit with another injury during the game, as midfielder Nico Gonzalez was forced off with a concussion.
The severity of Elanga’s injury is still not confirmed, though he is reportedly set to spend at least six weeks on the sideline.
As such, the upcoming extended international break comes at a good time for Newcastle, but they will be without that trio, as well as right-back Amar Dedic, for the visit of unbeaten Hull City on Saturday, which will be the Magpies’ last before a break that for them will stretch to the October 12 trip to Coventry City.
Captain Dan Burn, midfielder Joelinton and forward Will Osula are also all unavailable, leaving Jaissle with a thin squad as Newcastle aim to get back to winning ways.
But the German sees a positive in the injury issues impacting his team.
He told a pre-match press conference: “It is really important to show the right reaction after the Leeds United match. We are fully aligned and fully committed to showing a reaction in front of our fans.
“It would be nice to finish this block of fixtures before the international break with a good result.”
“[We have] no new players coming back for the Hull game. We have some injured players missing, but we use that as an opportunity for others.
“Anthony and Amar will not be able to play on Saturday. JJ [Ramsey] is injured. Hopefully after the international break our injury list is shorter.”
On Elanga, who scored in each of Newcastle’s opening two matches, Jaissle added: “No real update on Anthony. I’ve spoken with him now, he is heading for an MRI scan. We will get more clarity after that, and hope it’s not too serious.
“It is sad after the great start he had. He is a key strength in our squad and we want to stay positive.”
Jaissle retains belief in Newcastle youth movement
The injuries in midfield will leave Jaissle to select between 20-year-old Lewis Miley, 18-year-old Sean Steur and 20-year-old Aladji Bamba in the engine room.
But Jaissle is undaunted by that prospect and remains committed to the approach of sticking by young players despite their struggles against Leeds.
“It will be a young midfield. We trust them. This is our approach,” Jaissle said.
“I said that, four, five weeks ago, it’s a brave journey the club is going [on]. I’m fully committed in that, so now if there’s one setback we shouldn’t delete our journey or our mission.
“We’re fully committed, we’re fully aligned. We anticipated that something like that against Leeds happened, or is happening also in the next weeks and months. It’s just on us to respond, but still believing, we don’t change that.”
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