Preston North End and Newport County youngster Noah Mawene has been ruled out until the Christmas period following a scan.
The midfielder joined The Exiles over the summer on loan for the season from Deepdale and has become a helpful squad option for Nelson Jardim. This is his first loan away from his parent club, but he will face a spell on the sidelines after picking up an injury on Friday night.
“It’s a big negative”
Mawene came on as a sub for County in their matchup against Chesterfield, replacing Kieron Evans down the right flank. Just eight minutes later he was forced off the pitch with a hamstring issue, with Michael Spellman taking his place.
It comes as a big disappointment for the 19-year-old, who had featured from the beginning in the three previous fixtures, including a full ninety-minute run against Salford City. It was his ninth total appearance for Newport since joining at the end of August.
Speaking to the South Wales Argus ahead of their upcoming game against Fleetwood Town, Jardim discussed the knock to Mawene.
“Unfortunately the scan didn’t come with good news, he will be out for at least six weeks,” said head coach Nelson Jardim.
“It’s something that we were not expecting and it’s a big negative but we have to deal with it and give our support to Noah.
“He has been an important player for us and was coming through and playing very well, it’s just unfortunate that he had that injury when we were trying to manage his fitness.”
Other concerns in midfield
Another midfielder whose involvement against the Cod Army is in question is Bryn Morris, with the former Grimsby Town man taken off at halftime in the most recent game against Gillingham.
County were winning 2-0 at the time, thanks to goals from Kyle Hudlin and Matthew Baker, and Jardim decided to protect Morris for future matches, with the 28-year-old playing every minute for the club since the start of September.
Writer’s View
It is never nice to have depleted options when selecting your side so to lose Noah Mawene and potentially Bryn Morris for this weekend is a blow for Newport County. They can rely on their usual faces to start at Rodney Parade and are likely to see Jamie Miley come back into the side after his promising debut against Gillingham on Tuesday.
1st Class Honours in Multimedia Journalism at Salford University. Writing mainly about League Two.
