Newcastle youngster Jason Naidovski could be looking at six weeks on the sidelines after tearing knee cartilage in last Sunday’s game against Sydney.
The big striker was taken from the field after sustaining a knee injury early in the second half and the results of an MRI scan on Tuesday point to a tear of the lateral meniscus, while further consultation with a surgeon will assess any damage to his Anterior Cruciate Ligament.
Naidovski has started on the pitch in the past two games for Newcastle after returning to Australia from the AFC Under-19 Championships in Saudi Arabia in November where the team reached the semi-finals of the tournament and subsequently qualified for next year’s FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Coach Gary van Egmond wished the young striker well during the recovery process.
“It’s obviously bad luck and poor timing for Jason because he had worked his way into the squad recently, and had started our past couple of games,” he said.
“You don’t wish a serious injury like this upon anyone, least of all a young player who is starting out in his professional career, as Jason is.”
“Hopefully there is some good news regarding his ACL, once we find out the extent of that damage then we can go from there.”
