OPINION
No footballer wishes injury on another player, let alone a team mate, but that shouldn’t prevent Newcastle United defender Fabian Schar from seizing his chance after Ciaran Clark suffered a thigh injury.
The club confirmed on their official website on Tuesday that the Republic of Ireland international picked up the setback in training, and that he will miss Tuesday’s game against Wales.
Unfortunate news for Clark, it’s true, but certainly one less barrier in Schar’s way as the 26-year-old looks to make up ground after a slow start to his Magpies career.
The 6ft 1in Switzerland international [Source: Transfermarkt] has made just two appearances in all competitions since joining the club from Spanish side Deportivo this summer.
That lack of impact has been surprising considering the player’s pedigree. He’s played for Basel and Hoffenheim, as well as Deportivo, and with 43 caps is an experienced international.
Yet he hasn’t featured more than twice for his new club and has been absent from the squad more often than not so far this campaign.
But with Clark potentially out of the picture for the next few games, there is an opportunity for him to work his way into manager Rafael Benitez’s plans.
Captain Jamaal Lascelles and fellow summer signing Federico Fernandez remain formidable barriers to Schar’s first team aspirations, but a player of his quality should be looking to play more regularly than has been the case so far this term. He’s certainly talented enough to play week in week out in the Premier League.
Clark has shown that he is a dependable, if unspectacular, top flight defender, but Schar can be more than that. Additionally, there’s nothing Fernandez can do that he can’t.
This setback is Schar’s chance to seize a first team place and never let it go. If he doesn’t do that then he faces the possibility of his Magpies career unravelling rather quickly.
