Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez has revealed star striker Dwight Gayle is set for another spell on the sidelines after suffering a reoccurrence of his hamstring problem.
Gayle only lasted 33 minutes of Newcastle’s 2-0 win over Aston Villa on Monday evening before limping off and being replaced by Aleksandar Mitrovic.
The 26-year-old only returned to first-team action in their 2-2 draw with Norwich on Valentine’s Day following a six-game absence with a hamstring injury and Benitez has confirmed he is now set for another stint out.
“Dwight was doing well in training,” The Daily Mirror quote Benitez as saying. “He had a baby last week and some days he was not sleeping. Maybe putting everything together, he wasn’t that comfortable from the start.
“We had to make the substitution. It’s the same problem. He’ll miss some games but hopefully it’s not too bad.”
Despite his on-going injury concerns, Gayle is the leading goalscorer in the Championship this season (20) and is the first Newcastle player to reach the milestone in a single league campaign since Alan Shearer in 2003/04.
For more stats on Dwight Gayle, click here to visit his WhoScored player page