OPINION
When Newcastle United brought in Salomon Rondon in a loan swap deal with West Bromwich Albion this summer, it is fair to say that there was a lot of excitement on Tyneside about the seeing the Venezuela international in black and white stripes.
There were however those fans who questioned the wisdom of the decision to send Dwight Gayle the other way, with the Magpies potentially to be found short up top as the season progressed.
It is those supporters who have so far been proved correct, with Rondon failing to fire in the Premier League yet while Gayle nets left, right and centre for the Baggies in the Championship.
Niggling injury problems have not helped Rondon get up to speed, and his latest issue is set to put him out for a couple of weeks.
Speaking about the issue ahead of their clash with Leicester City this weekend, Benitez has now made a disconcerting revelation which really brings his decision to let Gayle leave into question.
As quoted by the Chronicle, he said: “We need to check. He might be out for a couple of weeks then we will decide after that. He has not been fully fit for us yet. We need to manage without him this weekend.”
The fact that Rondon has never been fully fit yet this season is a seriously worrying one for the Magpies, and makes you wonder why Benitez let Gayle leave if he knew the Venezuelan would take so much time to get up to speed.
Obviously he could never have predicted these injury issues, but the risk of starting the season with a half-fit Rondon, new signing Yoshinori Muto and a not-good-enough Joselu is extremely high.
And it is already a risk that is backfiring on Benitez, who will have to rely on Joselu to lead the line with Muto also not up to speed yet following his move from the Bundesliga.
Those disgruntled fans who bemoaned the decision to let Gayle leave will now be even louder, and things must change fast if Benitez wants to prove them wrong by the end of the season.
