Newcastle United defender Fabian Schar has undergone a successful surgery to correct an ankle injury.
Schar was forced off in the 76th minute of Newcastle United’s dramatic 4-3 victory over Leeds United in the Premier League on January 7. The Swiss international was evidently in pain as he was stretchered off the pitch.
Although coach Eddie Howe said he didn’t think Schar’s injury was a serious one after the game, it was later revealed that the 34-year-old center-back would have to undergo surgery.
He underwent a successful surgery on Thursday and then went on to share an image of himself in the hospital on social media.
At first, it looked like Schar would spend a long time on the sidelines, but he revealed that the prognosis was not as bad as first feared.
This was corroborated by coach Howe, who spoke about Schar’s situation on Friday, per The Shields Gazette. The English tactician noted that Schar would spend around three months on the sidelines, which means that he will return to action sometime around the end of April.
Nevertheless, this is a big blow for The Magpies, as Schar has been a regular for them this season, featuring in 16 Premier League games.
His injury also compounds Howe’s problems, as other key players like William Osula, Tino Livramento, and Dan Burn are dealing with injuries. And unfortunately for Howe, the club does not look like they will do any business this January, so he will have to make do with the current squad.
This means that the fully-fit senior center-backs like Malick Thiaw and Sven Botman will rack up a lot of minutes in the coming weeks.
Newcastle United currently sit sixth in the Premier League, three points away from the top four. They also remain in contention in the UEFA Champions League and the FA Cup.
