Newcastle United defender Ciaran Clark has urged the club not to panic over teammate Dwight Gayle’s injury and believes the Magpies can cope without the master marksman.
Having scored 20 goals for the Toon Army amid their promotion charge this season, the 26-year-old’s second hamstring ailment of the campaign will see him miss difficult games the likes of Brighton and Hove Albion, Huddersfield Town and Reading over the next few weeks.
Still, as important as he is to the black and white cause, Rafa Benitez’s side have a good record when playing without him, undefeated in the eight games he’s missed so far in the campaign. With that in mind, Clark has insisted the rest of the squad can cope without his absence, even at this crucial stage of the season.
Daryl Murphy and Aleksandar Mitrovic are waiting in the wings to help provide attacking spot and the former Aston Villa man is confident about their ability to fill that void.
“It’s a blow to us that Dwight came back and then had to go off injured – but Mitro came on and did really well,” he told NUFC TV (with our quotes sourced by the Chronicle.)
“Murph has also shown he is more than capable of getting goals when given the chance. We obviously want Dwight back as soon as possible but we know we have lads ready to step in.
“We feel like we are on a good run now, in good form. It is all about concentrating on the next game and staying focused.”
