Steve Bruce has confirmed that Newcastle United forward Joelinton requires an x-ray after struggling with a hip injury in their defeat against Norwich City on Saturday.
The Brazilian missed a couple of guilt edge opportunities in the game in which the Magpies were blown away by the newly-promoted Canaries in a 3-1 defeat at Carrow Road.
Bruce revealed in his post-match press conference, as quoted by the Athletic journalist Chris Waugh on his personal Twitter account, that the forward will need examining in the week.
With both Andy Carroll and Dwight Gayle still out injured for Newcastle, any forced absence for Joelinton would leave Bruce with Yoshinori Muto as his only fit senior forward.
OPINION
It was Muto who came off the bench in today’s game to replace Joelinton, and all Newcastle fans must be praying that the Brazilian will be fully-fit for their next outing. There is no hiding the fact that the 23-year-old has yet to make a real impact since arriving from Hoffenheim and should have easily have scored his first Premier League goal on Saturday, with a free-header the best chance he has had to score yet. Having said that, Japanese international Muto has done no better in his couple of years in Tyneside – only scoring a single goal in the top flight since joining two years ago. The 27-year-old also only managed 0.4 shots on goal per game on average last season according to WhoScored and has failed to step up to the physicalities of the Premier League since arriving from Germany. Bruce will be desperate to keep his record-signing fully fit for the season, and give him the platform to prove his worth, especially after the dreadful opening two weeks for the striker.
