Newcastle United have dropped a very big injury blow on Isaac Hayden as they confirmed on their official website that he will miss the rest of the season.

As per the website, the former Arsenal man has a 'significant' knee injury but will not need surgery after an assessment.

Hayden was stretchered off in the first half of the St. James' Park faithful's 3-0 loss away at the hands of fellow relegation rivals Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday night and scans have now revealed the extent of his injury.

The central midfield player will not require an operation and will begin a rehabilitation programme with the medical team in the North East to enable him to reach full fitness as soon as possible.

Newcastle dealt Hayden blow

There is no doubt that the fact that Hayden will now miss the rest of the 2020/21 term is a huge blow to the Tyneside club and may well hinder their chances of avoiding relegation from the Premier League down to the EFL Championship.

The 26-year-old has only missed a mere five matches for Steve Bruce's side in the top flight so far this campaign, completing the full 90 minutes on no fewer than in 19 separate appearances (Transfermarkt).

In addition, he has the second-best average for both tackles and interceptions per match in the division among his teammates so far (WhoScored), showing just how much he will be missed.

Hayden has put in some very good displays for the Magpies, with Alan Shearer even going as far as to call him ‘outstanding’ after a fine display in their 3-2 home win over Southampton in the league back in February.

All that said, the one small silver lining is that he will not require surgery, making it likely he will be back for the beginning of the next campaign.

In other news, find out which Newcastle ace has been tipped to leave this summer here!