Newcastle United have been handed a major boost ahead of their Champions League meeting against Paris Saint-Germain with star defender Marquinhos ruled out.
Marquinhos was substituted at half-time in Brazil’s 1-0 defeat against Argentina and the PSG captain has now been diagnosed with a hamstring injury which rules him out of action for the next ten days.
This is a welcome development for Newcastle ahead of their visit to Parc des Princes to face off against PSG on Tuesday.
After picking up four points from their opening two matches, Newcastle were beaten in their subsequent two UCL outings against Borussia Dortmund.
As a result, the Magpies currently sit bottom of Group D with four points heading into the penultimate round of group-stage games.
Eddie Howe’s side make the journey to Paris knowing that anything less than a victory could spell the end of their Champions League journey and they will be looking to capitalise on PSG’s defensive injury crisis.
Alongside Marquinhos, Presnel Kimpembe and Nuno Mendes are unavailable for the reigning Ligue 1 champions, while midfielder Warren Zaire-Emery also misses out as he is sidelined for the next couple of weeks.
While the clash against PSG is arguably Newcastle’s most important game of the season, they must navigate the first of three straight heavyweight outings against Chelsea on Saturday before closing out the week with a clash against Manchester United.
A 2-0 defeat against Bournemouth just before the international break sees Newcastle sit seventh in the standings, five points adrift of the top four.
