STEVE BRUCE faces a nervous few days as he waits to discover the seriousness of Allan Saint-Maximin’s latest injury setback.

Saint-Maximin has transformed Newcastle’s season in the last couple of games, scoring and claiming an assist against Burnley and setting up today’s opening goal in the Magpies’ 3-2 win over West Ham United.

However, he was unable to complete today’s game after suffering a blow to his ankle in the first half.

Saint-Maximin managed to make it through 64 minutes before he was replaced by Callum Wilson, but was in obvious pain when he limped to the touchline following his substitution.

Newcastle’s medical staff will make a detailed assessment of the injury once any swelling has subsided, and having been without his talismanic French forward for more than three months because of a combination of Covid and a calf injury, Bruce is hoping Saint-Maximin will not have to sit out any more of the Magpies’ remaining six matches.

The Newcastle boss said: “Saint-Maximin, unfortunately, has got a bad swollen ankle, which he did after ten minutes.

“It was touch and go at half-time whether he came out. We hope he’s going to be okay. We’ve seen what he’s like when he’s on the pitch and he’s right. We’ll see later on in the week.

“Thankfully, Callum has got another half-an-hour in him – well, 38 minutes if you count the eight minutes (of injury-time), wherever the bloody hell that came from. He’s got another 38 minutes, which is not a bad thing.”