ROLANDO AARONS is set to miss the remainder of the season after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in training this week.

Aarons, whose Newcastle United career has been blighted by a succession of serious injuries, was battling his way back to full fitness after fracturing his metatarsal during August’s EFL Cup win over Cheltenham Town.

The winger had started the season in impressive form prior to damaging his metatarsal, and had been a couple of weeks away from a possible return to the first team when he ruptured his ligaments on the training ground.

He is due to undergo surgery in the next few days, and is extremely unlikely to feature in the remainder of the season.

Indeed, with some ligament injuries taking up to 12 months to heal, he could even miss the whole of pre-season and the start of next season’s schedule.

A Newcastle statement said: “Newcastle United can confirm that Rolando Aarons sustained a rupture to the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during a training session this week.

“He will undergo surgery in due course and a further statement will be made at that time.”

Aarons, who signed a new five-year contract with Newcastle at the start of the current campaign, has previously suffered hamstring, thigh, calf and ankle injuries that have hampered his development in a Magpies shirt.

He made his senior Newcastle debut in a Premier League defeat to Manchester City in August 2014, but has managed just 21 more first-team appearances in almost two-and-a-half years since.