CIARAN CLARK admits he came close to leaving Newcastle United this summer – only for manager Steve Bruce to convince him he still had a future on Tyneside.

Last season proved a difficult campaign for the Irishman, with Rafael Benitez handing him just nine league starts and failing to select him at all in the Premier League from the middle of January onwards.

As he prepared to return for pre-season training at the start of the summer, the 30-year-old freely admits he was weighing up his options, but a heart-to-heart with Bruce persuaded him to shelve thoughts of moving on from the Magpies.

He agreed to remain in the North-East, and has successfully forced his way back into the first team, starting Newcastle’s last five matches and scoring in back-to-back games in the process.

“It (leaving Newcastle) was something I thought about in the summer,” said Clark, who has also been recalled to the Republic of Ireland squad ahead of Monday’s crucial Euro 2020 qualifying decider with Denmark. “I didn’t know what the situation was with the manager and I thought about it a lot, the manager came late into pre-season and there wasn’t much time to do anything.

“He wanted a chance to look at everyone in the squad, I had a chat with him, explained my situation and how I wanted to be playing games. I had a few years of being in and out of the team, it was hit and miss and I wanted to play football.

“He said to see how the first part of the season went and we’d assess it in January. He was fair with me, it was down to me to keep working hard and training and doing all I could to get back into the team, and I have managed to do that.”

Clark is likely to become an even more important performer over the next few months as Jamaal Lascelles is facing more than eight weeks on the sidelines after damaging his knee in last weekend’s 2-1 win over Bournemouth.

Lascelles left St James’ Park on crutches after the game, and scans have revealed he has suffered significant ligament damage.

He will definitely not play again before the turn of the year, ruling him out of the whole of December and the busy Christmas period. Newcastle’s medical staff are hoping he could be available by early January, but there is a chance it could be February before he is back to full fitness.

His absence is a major blow, both in terms of his contribution on the pitch – he has started every Premier League game under Bruce – and his importance as a captain.

However, the anticipated return of both Fabian Schar and Florian Lejeune after the international break will help limit the damage caused by his unavailability.

Bruce, who will be keen to retain the three centre-half system he has been fielding in recent weeks, can also call on Federico Fernandez and Paul Dummett as well as Clark.