OPINION
Newcastle United defender Ciaran Clark will surely be fearing for his future if Rafa Benitez snubs him by not utilising him against Leicester City on Friday.
The 29-year-old centre-back, who has 32 caps for the Republic of Ireland, has made 14 appearances for the Magpies this season and it’s been a mixed bag regarding his performances.
Clark notably struggled in the EFL Cup clash with Nottingham Forest but then soared against Burnley while wearing the captains arm band in November.
Yet what has been consistent about the defender, as of late at least, is that he has hardly featured.
In fact Clark hasn’t played any part in the Magpies’ last 11 league games with him at times not even able to make the bench.
While that alone is enough to have the Magpies defender sweating over his future, he’ll be particularly fearing that he will soon head out of the door at St James Park for one reason in particular if ignored against the Foxes.
This is because there is unfortunately an opening in Benitez’s squad as Florian Lejeune, as confirmed by the official site, has been ruled out for the season with an ACL injury.
Clark at the very least should be looking to at least make the bench for Friday’s clash with the Foxes and maybe be targeting getting some rare minutes under his belt.
The only issue is, and the telling reason why the defender would be justified to worry about his Magpies career, is that there’s no guarantee this will boost his chances of featuring.
Benitez has several centre-back options to call upon even with Lejeune out and he could opt to call on Paul Dummett or Federico Fernandez to replace Lejeune rather than Clark.
With this being the case and the writing effectively on the wall already over his recent lack of match action, Clark will surely fear his days are numbered at St James Park if he is not involved on Friday.
