OPINION
Newcastle United boss Rafa Benitez was no doubt in dreamland when the majority of his midfielders were fit. He was blessed with quality, and selection headaches were certainly welcomed.
Sean Longstaff threw a spanner in the works when he burst onto the first team scene in January following a bad bout of injuries. Fast forward to now though, and the 21-year-old has been ruled out for the rest of the season.
Not only that, but Benitez has confirmed that the likes of Isaac Hayden – who has been a rock in the middle of the park recently – and Mo Diame have “little problems” ahead of their match against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
“[Fabian] Schar is fine, we have some little problems with Hayden, Diame and [DeAndre] Yedlin. We will see,” he said, as relayed by Chronicle reporter Lee Ryder on his personal Twitter account.
Rafa on injuries: "Schar is fine, we have some little problems with Hayden, Diame and Yedlin. We will see." #nufc
— Lee Ryder (@lee_ryder) April 5, 2019
If Diame and Hayden are both out, just who will Benitez turn to? The answer – Ki sung-yueng.
The South Korean has not been on the scene for a while and has been largely been used as a substitute recently, with his latest appearance coming in the defeat to Arsenal on Monday to replace Hayden.
Put it this way, Ki is far too good to just be a bench warmer for the Magpies. The fact that a player of his quality has to sit on the sidelines shows just how much depth the manager has in this position.
Benitez has to give the £40,000-a-week [Spotrac] star the chance to shine against Palace on Saturday, especially if his teammates are ruled out. He has proven many times this season that he can be reliable, whilst he has also demonstrated that he can make a vital impact.
Newcastle certainly would not be compromising on quality with the 30-year-old in the starting XI – so over to you, Benitez.
