Newcastle United injury blow as Allan Saint-Maximin set for extended spell on sidelines

Newcastle United star Allan Saint-Maximin is facing an extended spell on the sidelines, NewcastleWorld understands.

Saint-Maximin went for a scan following the 5-1 win at West Ham United on Wednesday night with results revealing damage to his hamstring.

Subsequently, the 26-year-old missed Saturday’s victory against Brentford, where an own goal from David Raya and an Alexander Isak strike cancelled out Ivan Toney’s opener.

Speaking after the game at the Gtech Community Stadium, Magpies’ head coach Eddie Howe guessed Saint-Maximin would be out or “maybe a couple of weeks”.

“I don’t think it’s serious with Allan,” said Howe. “He didn’t feel 100 per-cent in the West Ham game so we decided to scan him and it revealed a very minor problem with his hamstring. We knew pretty much straight away he wasn’t going to be available for this game.

“Maybe a couple of weeks - I’m guessing slightly. Nothing too serious but that was a big blow because of the form Allan has been in. But again, we back the strength of the squad.”

However, following further assessment, NewcastleWorld understands Saint-Maximin is looking at four to six weeks on the sidelines after suffering a grade two hamstring injury.

Following a run of three matches in six days - four of which were spent in London - Howe granted his squad a few days off after Brentford, and Saint-Maximin travelled back to France.

The winger, who signed from Nice for £16.5million in 2019, has been pictured running on the treadmill and spending time in an oxygen therapy hyperbaric chamber via his official Instagram account. He regularly visits the same physiotherapist in Monaco when injured.

Saint-Maximin had started four consecutive games in the run-up to Brentford - his best run in the starting XI since August - and claimed back-to-back assists in victories over Manchester United and West Ham United last week.

It has, however, largely been a frustrating campaign for the Frenchman, with an early season hamstring issue restricting him to 11 Premier League starts.

Opening up on his injury frustrations in December, Saint-Maximin told reporters in Saudi Arabia: “It was a very, very hard time for me mentally. I have my job in Newcastle but I always had in my mind the World Cup with the French team as well.

“When you start like this and after you get the injury, and you try everything to be able to come back but you know if you come back too early you can pick up a bigger injury.

“I started very well, I did a great game against Manchester City - it was one of the best games I’ve played for Newcastle. And just after that, we were losing 1-0 against Wolves and I scored a nice goal to get a draw for the team. It was a very good and important moment for me but after, it was a bad moment because I felt pain in my hamstring.

“It was a very difficult time for me because always, when you see the team play well, you want to be able to help them. I’m the type of player that when I get this type of injury, there is a lot of work to do. If I come back and do any sprint, anything can happen.”

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