Rolando Aarons has suffered a rupturing of his anterior cruciate ligament in training, which will see him miss the rest of the season.

The winger, who was already recovering from a foot injury sustained in the Magpies’ 2-0 EFL Cup win over Cheltenham Town in late August, is set undergo surgery in ‘due course’.

Aarons’ latest setback adds to his injury hampered Toon career after breaking onto the first team scene in 2014.

The 21-year-old signed a five-year-deal with the Magpies in August, however, for Aarons, his Toon Army chance will feel a million miles away.

Injury hell that doesn’t seem to be ending

After flourishing and scoring in Newcastle’s 2-0 at the Etihad on October 29, the England Under-21 International began to be spoken about. However, when the Geordies thought they had a star on their hands, unfortunately, his breakthrough didn’t materialise as injuries restricted Aarons to just six appearances in his debut season.

The 21-year-old then battled to regain fitness as he aimed to impress then new boss, Steve McClaren. The winger seemed to be back on track when he featured in five of United’s six opening Premier League fixtures. But again, an injury to the youngster saw him miss 15 constitutive games between September and January.

With doubts over the winger’s fitness, Aarons was in and out of the first team squad. However, Aarons featured as a second-half substitute against Tottenham Hotspur as he netted the fourth in a 5-1 win. Despite relegation for the Magpies, his celebration suggested a sweet ending on a personal level for Aarons.

The winger featured regularly in pre-season under Rafael Benitez, with Aarons being one of the standout players - starring in each of the Magpies’ five pre-season games. In these outings, the winger scored and assisted against Bohemians and also added another assist against Sporting Lokeren.

His big chance – cut short

The Championship looked the ideal platform for Aarons to firmly put his injury problems behind him and cement his place Benitez’ starting 11. The 21-year-old was backed to fulfil his full potential by signing a five-year deal.

Benitez’ intentions seemed clear on Aarons as he looked keen to bed him into the United team as he made cameo appearances in all five of the Magpies’ opening four league games.

Aarons would start against Cheltenham but was captured in tears when he had to be stretchered off in the first-half before he left St James’ Park wearing a protective boot. The winger would then once again look to battle back from injury, though when light training, the horror a major setback would arise.

VAVEL Logo
About the author
Jordan Cronin
Sports Journalist. Editor/ Writer for the Newcastle United office.