Newcastle United defender Jamaal Lascelles has been out of action for the last 13 months with an ACL injury.
Lascelles picked up the injury in March 2023 during Newcastle’s 4-3 win over West Ham United at St James’ Park.
The Newcastle captain has been back in training and even lifted the Carabao Cup at Wembley Stadium along with Bruno Guimaraes and Kieran Trippier.
Sky Sports captured footage of Lascelles training with the Newcastle first team ahead of Sunday’s Premier League trip to Brighton & Hove Albion. But he wasn’t part of the matchday squad for the game at the Amex Stadium as he pushes to return to action before the end of the season.
Newcastle have recently been boosted by the return of Sven Botman after two months out with a knee injury. Botman also missed around 10 months with an ACL injury between March and December last year before briefly returning to action.
Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe will want his squad as strong as possible for the final four games as they look to secure Champions League qualification.
Lewis Hall and Matt Targett have already been ruled out for the rest of the season while there are serious doubts as to whether Lascelles or indeed Joelinton will feature again this campaign due to their respective knee injuries.
It was previously thought Lascelles was out of contract in the summer but it has been suggested by various sources that the Newcastle skipper is under contract until the end of next season following an unannounced extension.
And Howe possibly gave a hint that Lascelles was tied down for next season, pointing to it as a potential return date from his injury.
“With Jamaal, he is making good progress,” Howe said. “Really pleased with how he has looked since coming back to training.
“It has been a slow, steady return, he’s certainly not been rushed. Possibly he could be involved before the end of the season but maybe it will depend on injuries with some of the other players within the squad.
“I think maybe for Jamaal it would be better if it was next season but I think if he feels good and has done enough training then [him playing this month] is certainly something we’ll look at.”
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