Santiago Munoz’s mysterious Newcastle United absence explained amid exit reports

Newcastle United will make a decision on Santiago Munoz’s future in due course as the on-loan Mexican forward recovers from hernia surgery. The Magpies have the option to buy Munoz permanently at end of his 18-month loan spell in January.

There was a lot of interest surrounding Munoz’s arrival from Liga MX side Santos Laguna in August last year, with his name reminiscent of Santiago Munez, the main character in the popular film series GOAL!

However, unlike fictional star Munez, Munoz has struggled to make an impact on Tyneside. While he’s trained with Eddie Howe’s first team on the odd occasion, even travelling to Portugal with the group in pre-season, he’s made just one senior appearance which came in a friendly against Athletic Bilbao at St James’ Park.

Munoz waited almost seven months before making his first under-21s start in March due to injury. And less than a month into the current campaign, the 22-year-old was sidelined with a hernia problem, which required surgery.

The forward hasn’t featured for Elliot Dickman’s youngsters since August and sources in Mexico expect Munoz to return to Santos when his loan expires at the end of 2022. In total, Munoz has made just nine Premier League 2 appearances and scored once.

Dickman admitted earlier this year he needed to see ‘a lot more’ from Munoz. He said: “He’s one of those players who has to hit the ground running. “The lad has got some qualities but we do need to see a lot more and the main thing is that he has had some really bad injuries and the length of time he’s had out with that makes it difficult to come back.”