Jamaal Lascelles injury update is not good news for Newcastle United defender - journalist

Back in March last year Newcastle United were hit with a double defensive blow when Sven Botman and Jamaal Lascelles both picked up ACL injuries within a fortnight of each other.

Both injuries required the same surgery with the same expected layoff for both players.

While Sven Botman has made his return to the starting lineup and is looking stronger with each game, Jamaal Lascelles' recovery is taking longer than expected.

Neither player was expected to return to action in 2024, and indeed that was the case, but while Botman made his return in January, Lascelles is still weeks away.

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Jamaal Lascelles is facing another month on the sidelines at Newcastle

Chris Waugh was asked in his fan Q&A for The Athletic where Jamaal Lascelles is and it wasn't the best of news.

Lascelles is not expected to return to action until at least March as things stand according to Waugh.

It's nothing that Lascelles has done wrong, with the 31-year-old following the recovery plan and putting in the work, he's just not recovering as quickly as Sven Botman did.

Jamaal Lascelles may already have played his last game for the club

It's a blow to Lascelles no matter how you look at it, but when it's framed in the light of the fact his contract is to expire in the summer, and Newcastle are actively shopping for defenders, it must be soul-crushing for the club captain to know he may have already played his last game for Newcastle.

Lascelles proved last season, before his injury, that he's still got plenty to offer when many had written him off, however, recovering from an ACL injury is difficult at the best of times, but once you pass that 30 mark, it's all downhill from there and this could play a huge part in his future.

We wish our captain the best of luck in his recovery and we hope we do see him again before his inevitable exit in the summer.