‘By the state of his ankle it looks pretty serious’ – Bad news for Ireland and Newcastle defender

NEWCASTLE UNITED BOSS Steve Bruce says Ireland defender Ciaran Clark’s injury “looks pretty serious” after he was substituted in the second half of their Premier League loss today.

Arsenal were 4-0 winners at the Emirates Stadium, and a bad day for the Magpies got worse when Clark hobbled off in the dying minutes of the game.

Bruce confirmed that it is a “bad” ankle injury, and it’s expected the Irish international will now face a race against time to be fit for the Boys in Green’s all-important Euro 2020 qualifier against Slovakia next month.

“He’s got a bad one,” Bruce told reporters after the game, as quoted by Chronicle Live.

“It doesn’t look great, the state of his ankle, leaving the ground on crutches. I can’t say now how bad it is but it’s bad enough.”

The 30-year-old defender has been in good form of late, but is now shaping up to be a doubt for the trip to Bratislava on 26 March.

Clark — who has been capped 32 times at international level — has been used sparingly since Mick McCarthy took over ahead of the Euro 2020 campaign, but has come into contention selection since winning his club place back under Bruce.

He featured as a half-time substitute in the 1-1 draw against Denmark at the Aviva Stadium last November.

James McClean is another serious fitness concern for McCarthy after the Stoke City star suffered a medial ligament knee injury on club duty.