It’s been far too long since we saw Matt Ritchie in a Newcastle shirt, and Steve Bruce needs him more than ever right now.
According to Sky Sports, Allan Saint-Maximin will miss a month of action due to a hamstring injury sustained in the win over Southampton.
The Magpies have been doing well in recent weeks, but this injury blow could stunt our attempts to move into the top half and away from the relegation zone.
Newcastle don’t have many wide options, with Christian Atsu the most likely player to come in. The only other option is moving Joelinton out wide and playing Andy Carroll or Dwight Gayle up front.
But if Ritchie was fit, Bruce would have a simple solution – play him on the right and move Miguel Almiron to the left.
While the Scotland international has spent the past year or so as a left wing-back, it’s easy to forget that Ritchie arrived as a right winger for £10 million in 2016.
He doesn’t have the pace of Saint-Maximin, or the dribbling ability and Gucci headband, but Ritchie’s passion and drive is a valuable asset and something we could really do with during the French winger’s absence.
Alas, it looks like we won’t have Ritchie back until 2020 either as the injury sustained in the EFL Cup defeat to Leicester continues to plague him.
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