A young Newcastle United star limped off during a Premier League 2 game just a day after rumours of his departure surfaced.
A new season brings new challenges, new opportunities for players, and while a lot of focus has been on the senior team in recent weeks, the Magpies’ academy side has also started their season.
Newcastle United’s Under-21s have had a rather poor start to the campaign, conceding seven goals in their two opening games of the Premier League 2 season. However, it was announced that Adam Lawrence is the Under-21s’ new manager, and he joins with a wealth of experience from his days at Manchester United.
Lawrence took charge of his first game for the Young Magpies on Friday afternoon against Birmingham City. Having failed to make a single appearance in the academy last season, Lawrence started Miodrag Pivas against Birmingham, his first appearance since signing for the club in 2024.
The former Man United boss handed starts to the likes of Seung-soo Park and Sean Neave. Exciting young winger Trevan Sanusi was also named in the starting XI for the game, but suffered a blow less than half an hour into the 2-2 draw.
Trevan Sanusi warms up ahead of a Premier League 2 game between Newcastle United and Chelsea.
Photo by Harriet Massey/Newcastle United via Getty Images
Trevan Sanusi comes off injured during Newcastle United U21s clash
There has been a lot of hype around Sanusi since his arrival from Birmingham in 2023. The winger is known for his immense dribbling ability and has been linked to former Newcastle man Allan Saint-Maximin for his skilfulness.
Sanusi made his professional debut against Bromley in the FA Cup and was recently called up to first-team training by Eddie Howe ahead of the 2025/26 season.
There is hope that the 18-year-old would kick on this season, but Sanusi has been dealt a fresh injury setback. Sanusi limped off just 24 minutes into the game against his former club.
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It is not the first time the winger has suffered an injury in the last 12 months. Sanusi announced that he had injured his ankle in March and was forced to miss eight weeks because of it.
There is no confirmation on what this new problem is for Sanusi, but he will be hoping that it is not the same issue which forced him to miss a good chunk of last season.
Newcastle United were ready to send Trevan Sanusi out on loan
Thankfully, Newcastle’s Under-21s have a lot of strength in depth, with the likes of Park and Johnny Emerson available as cover. They had Garang Kuol, but it has since been confirmed that he has completed a permanent move to Sparta Prague.
Lawrence will be hoping that Sanusi’s issue is not serious, as he would have been keen to get the best out of the winger.
However, reports on Thursday suggested that Newcastle were ready to send Sanusi out on loan.
Howe is a big fan of Sanusi, calling the youngster ‘very clever‘ in the past, but another injury means his development has been halted for the time being, so everyone inside the club will be hoping it is not something which keeps him out for too long.
While it could still be a minor problem, suffering from lengthy injuries at an early age will surely ring alarm bells inside the club.