Newcastle United defender Florian Lejeune is lined up to have surgery on his ACL injury this Sunday, according to the Chronicle.
The 27-year-old star suffered the injury to the opposite knee that ruled him out until February this year, and he is now set to travel to Rome to undergo an operation performed by Professor Pier Paolo Marini on 14 April.
The report adds that if his recovery goes to plan after going under the knife, then the £38,000-a-week [Spotrac] centre-back is likely to return to full training at the end of Newcastle’s pre-season campaign.
OPINION
This injury to Lejeune is no doubt the last thing Rafa Benitez would have wanted when entering the final few games of the season, especially as they only got him back in February after an injury to the other knee. However, seeing as he is to be operated on by a surgeon who the report says is a favourite of Benitez, his recovery could be a lot quicker than expected. It will be a major boost if he can return to full training by the end of pre-season, as that would mean that Benitez – or whoever is in charge at this point – would have Lejeune fit and available for the start of the campaign. After his comeback this season, Lejeune performed like he had never been away from the team, and fans will certainly be praying that he can do the same this time around, providing the surgery and recovery goes according to plan.
