"Will be sorely missed" – Journalist reacts to potential huge blow for Newcastle ahead of Villa

Journalist Pete O’Rourke reckons that Newcastle will miss Kieran Trippier’s leadership if he does end up facing a spell on the sidelines.

The right-back has enjoyed a bright start to his Toon Army career but suffered an injury in the latter stages of the Magpies’ win over Everton earlier this week.

His debut defeat against Cambridge aside, it’s been an extremely positive start to life in the North East since Trippier made the £12m January switch from Atletico Madrid.

In his first three games, Newcastle have collected seven points and moved out of the relegation zone for the first time since October after beating Everton last time out.

Trippier scored the crucial third goal with an exquisite free-kick past his England colleague Jordan Pickford, but moments later, the former Tottenham man suffered a calf injury and was forced off in stoppage-time.

Therefore, the 31-year-old has emerged as a doubt for Newcastle’s game with Aston Villa on Saturday, with Eddie Howe stating that he’ll face a late fitness test. He said: “It’ll be a big blow if we lose him, but we’ll see.”

The average age of the other three defenders against Everton was 28, but O’Rourke reckons that Trippier’s leadership will be missed if he isn’t considered fit enough to play this weekend.

He told GIVEMESPORT: “I think also his leadership will be sorely missed in that Newcastle defence if he does face a spell on the sidelines.”

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If the right-back is ruled out of the Villa game, it’ll be a huge blow to the Magpies’ chances collecting another positive result.

The fixture list has been kind to Newcastle, but there’s no doubt that Trippier’s arrival has played a major part in their recent upturn