Newcastle United injuries: Trevan Sanusi has had to endure a difficult season on loan at Ligue 1 club Lorient.
Newcastle United agreed a deadline-day loan move for winger Trevan Sanusi at the end of the summer transfer window.
The 18-year-old joined Ligue 1 club Lorient on loan despite picking up an ankle injury just days before the move.
Sanusi’s injury prevented him from training with Lorient for a couple of months as he returned to Newcastle for treatment.
The teenager returned to France in November to step up his recovery and take part in training. In December, he finally made his debut and marked it with a goal and an assist off the bench in a 7-0 Coupe de France win over AS Gosier.
Sanusi was introduced in the 57th minute against the Guadeloupean club, with Lorient already leading 5-0. But the Newcastle loanee contributed to both of the second-half goals, setting up Mohamed Bamba to make it 6-0 before grabbing the seventh himself.
He then started Lorient’s next Coupe de France match against Hauts Lyonnais as the side secured a 3-1 win. He has been named on the bench three times in Ligue 1 matches but didn’t get on the pitch.
And earlier this month, Sanusi suffered a fresh injury blow - this time to his knee.
French outlet Ouest France described Sanusi’s injury as a ‘long-term’ issue, but Lorient head coach Olivier Pantaloni provided a brief update on the fitness of Sanusi and his teammates, Abdoulaye Faye and Bandiougou Fadiga.
“They are not ready to play yet,” he said. “We'll see at the end of next week.”
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Trevan Sanusi rated by Eddie Howe
Sanusi made his competitive debut for Newcastle in the FA Cup win over Bromley last January before suffering an injury that limited his impact during the final months of the 2024/25 season.
Despite another injury-hit campaign, Sanusi is highly rated by the club’s coaching staff.
Following the Bromley match, Howe said: “He’s got standout qualities. He’s confident, you saw that today when he came on. He will always front people up one-on-one and try to beat them. Of course, he needs to add that physicality that he’ll need to survive. People will target him.
“He has a nice way of riding tackles and really good balance. Like most young players, there’s stuff to improve. His end product needs to get better. We will continue to work with him on that.”
The faith Newcastle had in him was demonstrated by the decision to loan him out to a Ligue 1 club. But his impact in France has so far been very limited.
Newcastle United loan frustration
Newcastle could have recalled Sanusi back in January but opted against it as the winger had only recently returned to fitness and was in and around the Lorient first-team.
But other young Newcastle players have also had tricky loan spells this season.
Midfielder Travis Hernes had to wait until January to make his debut on loan at Groningen and has been limited to just three substitute appearance in total plus an Under-21s appearance.
Summer signing Antonio Cordero had also been limited to brief substitute appearances during his time in Belgium with Westerlo before being recalled and loaned out to Spanish second-tier club Cadiz, where he has featured consistently.
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