When Newcastle centre-back, Florian Lejeune, collapsed in a heap following an innocuous looking challenge, fans immediately feared the worst for the player, who has suffered two previous long-term injuries in his short career on Tyneside.

The incident happened right next to the touchline, and when players from both sides, as well as fans in the front rows, are all immediately calling for a stretcher, you suspect it is something serious.

The problem was in the opposite knee to that which he suffered cruciate ligament damage to earlier this season, but the likely prognosis could be a similar issue.

The news out of Newcastle (confirmed on their official site) yesterday, was that the player would be going for a scan to determine the severity of the damage, but the signs did not look promising.

Rafa Benitez was still trying to find a bright side, when he said to the Newcastle Chronicle earlier: "For now, he is very down, we have to wait and see if he is a little bit lucky, but it looks serious.

"Hopefully it won’t be too serious. I think he is a strong character, he was working so hard to get fit and he will have that same determination this time."

But both Rafa's, and the fans', worst fears were confirmed by the football club today, when they released a statement confirming Lejeune would miss the rest of the season through a "significant knee injury", but did not provide any precise details of what that injury is.

Fans were quick to take to Twitter to react to the loss of, widely considered, their most influential defender, with concerns and well-wishes.

What are your thoughts on the loss of you key defender, Newcastle fans? Should Rafa now revert to four at the back, or will he put someone else in there? Let us know your thoughts...