HOW RAFA’S HELPING TO KEEP TOON PLAYERS FIT FOR ACTION

Newcastle United’s squad was hit hard by injuries during the 2015/16 campaign – but the treatment room is almost clear now. As Chris Waugh reports, the Magpies are saving money as a result

RAFA Benitez is extremely proud of Newcastle United’s injury record this season – and with good reason.

For a club which used eight players at left-back during the 2015/16 campaign – primarily due to chronic fitness problems which afflicted the squad – to now boast a record which has seen the Magpies record the third-fewest injuries in the Premier League so far this season is an extremely impressive feat.

Heading into Saturday’s trip to Bournemouth, Newcastle could even have an entirely clear treatment room.

Islam Slimani is expected to make his debut, Ciaran Clark should have recovered from his minor knee problem, while Jesus Gamez could also return after an extended spell on the sidelines, which would mean there were no long-term absentees in the Magpies’ squad.

During the summer of 2016, Benitez oversaw a makeover of the Magpies’ Benton Training Centre – with the rest, recuperation and wellbeing of his players placed at the very heart of the changes he affected.

Clearly those alterations, as well as the Spaniard’s close communication with his medical staff, and the way in which Newcastle players’ workloads are managed across the course of the entire season, is paying dividends.

According to extensive research compiled by JLT Speciality and their ‘Premier League Injury Index,’ Newcastle are out-performing the vast majority of their top-flight rivals when it comes to the prevention and management of injuries.

Up until January 31, the Magpies had suffered just 15 injuries in 2017/18 – the second-lowest in the Premier League behind only Brighton and Hove Albion (14).

The top-flight average is 22 injuries per team, with West Ham United having suffered almost three times that of Newcastle – with a staggering 41 already this term. Although the total number of days missed by Magpies due to injury (691) is just above the Premier League average of 677, that is actually a positive in some respects.

During the 2015/16 campaign, Newcastle players were struck down by a succession of soft-tissue problems – injuries which are seen as ‘preventable.’ This term, however, the number of soft-tissue injuries has decreased, mainly being replaced by more serious problems.

Discounting Paul Dummett’s hamstring problem, which kept the left-back sidelined for four months, the longest absentee this season has been Florian Lejeune who was struck down with an ankle injury following an awful tackle from Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane.

Meanwhile, in terms of the average number of players who have been unavailable for any given fixture, Newcastle are mid-table with 3.6 – which is almost half as many as Watford who have been unable to call upon 7.1 members of their squad per match.

JLT’s ‘Injury Index’ not only calculates the number of injuries to afflict each squad but the financial cost incurred by the 20 Premier League clubs during that time.

By combining both the length of the injury and the wages earned by a player during their period of fitness enforced absence, JLT has uncovered quantifiable financial figures.

Newcastle have paid out approximately £2.8m in wages to injured players so far this season – a figure which is expected to rise to more than £2.9m once currently sidelined