OPINION
Newcastle United boss Rafa Benitez was facing a huge selection headache after defender Fabian Schar delivered a breakout performance in the 1-0 win over Watford last Saturday.
That headache is now set to turn into a huge dilemma after the Daily Mail reported that Florian Lejeune is set to return from injury next month to swell the ranks in defence.
The club were expecting him to be out for a year, but after being operated on by Pier Paolo Mariani, Lejeune is set to make a return from his ACL injury four months ahead of schedule.
While Benitez will no doubt be delighted that he has been handed his major boost, he will also be facing yet another dilemma in terms of selection.
He was not expecting Lejeune to make a recovery as soon as he is, and combined with Schar blowing everyone away on Saturday, Benitez will not know which way to turn.
Lejeune’s return will no doubt boost the side’s chances of survival – as they clearly are not lacking defensively – and they will now have a range of players who are more than capable of keeping clean sheets.
They now have a back four that could rival that of any team in the Premier League top four, and you can sense that this is the area that will be key in avoiding relegation.
But who does Benitez pick? After all, he cannot switch the back line up too often, as this will have the complete opposite effect.
Does he condemn Schar to the bench upon Lejeune’s return, or will it be the other way around? These are all questions that the manager needs to answer.
As if Schar’s form was not too much of a dilemma for him, the news that the £38,000-a-week [Spotrac] star’s return is imminent certainly will be.
