OPINION
The temptation must have been to get Jonjo Shelvey back out onto the pitch as quickly as possible.
Having played just a dozen matches this season due to a recurring thigh problem, the midfielder has been a big miss for Newcastle United.
So much of their creative output flows through him, and on his day there are few deep-lying playmakers who can match Shelvey for the quality and vision of his passing.
It would have been natural, therefore, for Rafa Benitez to chuck him back into the starting lineup at the first available opportunity but instead the Spaniard took a far more measured approach to the issue.
Speaking to the Chronicle, Shelvey explained: “I was literally just hobbling around the pitch and I can’t give the best account of myself for this football club and for myself so I needed to take the time off.
“It’s been hard and the manager said to me to just nip it in the bud and get it sorted but I just wanted to keep playing and playing and playing.
“I eventually learnt my lesson to nip it in the bud and it’s been six weeks now since I kicked a football.”
That sacrificial period, a lengthy spell that has seen Shelvey fly back and forth between Tyneside and Barcelona to see a specialist, could prove to be a wise move in the long run.
No doubt the 26-year-old could have played a bigger part at a lower level of fitness, but by allowing his player the time to heal fully, despite what that could have meant for his side, Benitez is sure to be rewarded with the return of the Shelvey of old.
The hope will be that he can come back into the side stronger than ever, and with an abundance of options in the centre of the park now, the Magpies must be eyeing up his return and feeling genuinely optimistic about the impact he can make.
That couldn’t have the case if player and manager hadn’t shown the patience they have.
