OPINION
Newcastle United have been denied establishing an advantage over Brighton ahead of their showdown on Saturday as Seagulls boss Chris Hughton could have Gaetan Bong to call upon.
The left-back, who has only missed 30 minutes of Brighton’s Premier League campaign this season, didn’t feature for Cameron in their match against Malawi on Tuesday due to suffering a knock.
However Sky Sports have reported that Bong’s injury blow potentially won’t cause him to miss his side’s match with the Magpies as he could feature for Hughton’s side after all this weekend.
It seems Rafa Benitez’s side can’t buy any luck for love nor money as if Bong would have been ruled out the clash, then the Seagulls would have been weaker for it.
Hughton has got his side well disciplined, particularly their defence, and it’s hard to know if the Magpies have the firepower to break their walls down.
If Bong was to miss Saturday’s game then it would have handed the Magpies a clear area to target their attack as the defender’s understudy isn’t as good as him.
The 30-year-old is a very reliable presence for the Seagulls and Hughton’s side would have been unsettled without him on their left-flank ensuring the Magpies didn’t penetrate that side of the club’s defence with ease.
However given that Bong could feature then it seems Benitez is going to have to go back to the drawing board in order to work out another way to bypass Brighton’s defence.
The Magpies need all the help they can get this season as they still haven’t got their win on the board and the Seagulls are a tough opponent due to their defensive strength.
Yet it seems based on Sky Sports’ report the Magpies haven’t been handed any form of boost due to Bong’s injury blow as there’s every reason to now believe he will play.
