Newcastle United centre-back Federico Fernandez has claimed that Florian Lejeune has returned to the club’s Benton Training Centre.
The United mainstay acquired knee ligament damage during pre-season and he is not expected to return to action until next year, but Fernandez has confirmed that his teammate is “recovering well” and is “already in the gym” ahead of his eventual return.
“Florian’s come back to the training ground. He’s recovering well. I hope he’s soon with us on the pitch. It’s a long one [injury], but he’s already in the gym. He’s running and kicking the ball,” Fernandez said, as quoted by the Chronicle.
“He’s positive, he’s happy. You can see he’s smiling. He spent two months in Rome [recovering], and now he’s with us.”
OPINION
The fact that Fernandez has issued this crucial update that his injured teammate is back at the club’s Benton Training Centre will be music to the ears of Newcastle fans. He established himself as one of their favourites last season and it would obviously have been a major blow for Rafa Benitez to have him on the sidelines for such a long time. However, this update is positive, and it shows that Lejeune is heading in the right direction in terms of his recovery and return to action. Supporters no doubt missed his ability on the ball in the centre of the defence this season, and Benitez even had to sign the likes of Fernandez to fill his place. Knee ligament injuries usually mean that a player will be out for about nine months to a year, but Benitez has got a specialist in to ensure that Lejeune recovers a lot quicker – and come next year, fans will be seeing one of their favourite players in a black and white shirt once again.
