---
title: "Newcastle United: Steve Bruce admits he should have withdrawn Allan Saint-Maximin earlier in defeat to Brighton"
canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/steve-bruce-makes-allan-saint-maximin-admission-injury-brighton/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Liam Togher"
section: "Newcastle United"
published: "2020-09-21T18:10:32Z"
modified: "2020-09-21T18:10:32Z"
---

# Newcastle United: Steve Bruce admits he should have withdrawn Allan Saint-Maximin earlier in defeat to Brighton

**Newcastle manager Steve Bruce admitted that he should have withdrawn [Allan Saint-Maximin](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/newcastle-united-news/newcastle-united-steve-bruce-confirms-allan-saint-maximin-is-okay-after-injury-scare/) earlier in Sunday’s 0-3 defeat against Brighton.**

The 23-year-old [picked up a knock](https://www.shieldsgazette.com/sport/football/newcastle-united/steve-bruce-gives-allan-saint-maximin-update-newcastle-united-after-injury-scare-2976665) in last week’s Carabao Cup win over Blackburn but recovered in time to [make the starting XI](https://www.skysports.com/football/newcastle-vs-brighton/teams/428854) yesterday. However, he was [taken off with an ankle injury](https://www.skysports.com/football/newcastle-vs-brighton/428854) on 33 minutes and, even at that, Bruce conceded that he should have made the substitution earlier.

As per [The Shields Gazette](https://www.shieldsgazette.com/sport/football/newcastle-united/newcastle-united-suffer-double-injury-blow-2977791), the Magpies boss said of the winger: “He needed to recover today against the boy he was playing against (Tariq Lamptey), who was all action. In hindsight maybe I should have took him off a bit earlier.”

![](https://cdn.footballtransfertavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/THE-BREAKDOWN.png)

Saint-Maximin had been passed fit to play by Bruce in the days leading up to the Brighton game, with the manager [claiming on Friday](https://www.shieldsgazette.com/sport/football/newcastle-united/steve-bruce-gives-allan-saint-maximin-update-newcastle-united-after-injury-scare-2976665) that “he’s fine”. However, the 59-year-old’s decision to start the Frenchman backfired in the very early stages at St James’ Park.

There were only four minutes gone when the 23-year-old, perhaps not at his explosive best, gave away a penalty for a foul on sprightly youngster Lamptey which was converted by Neal Maupay for the first of the Seagulls’ three goals (as per [Sky Sports](https://www.skysports.com/football/newcastle-vs-brighton/428854)).

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Saint-Maximin lasted just over half an hour before being replaced by Ryan Fraser and Bruce [confirmed after the match](https://twitter.com/milesstarforth/status/1307707364431273984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1307707364431273984%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fd-24003382973362116007.ampproject.net%2F2009040024003%2Fframe.html) that he had sustained an ankle injury, the severity of which is [as yet unknown](https://www.premierinjuries.com/injury-table.php).

![](https://cdn.footballtransfertavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Verdict.png)

In hindsight it is easy to castigate Bruce for starting the French winger considering that he may not have been fully fit after he went off against Blackburn. However, with Saint-Maximin [finishing last season strongly](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/allan-saint-maximin/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/272642/plus/0/saison/2019/wettbewerb/GB1/verein/762) and impressing against West Ham, when he [drew seven fouls](https://www.whoscored.com/Matches/1485191/LiveStatistics/England-Premier-League-2020-2021-West-Ham-Newcastle-United) from the Londoners, it was understandable why the manager wanted to start him yesterday.

Unfortunately the calculated gamble backfired on Bruce, who is now set to be without his [main creative threat from 2019/20](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/newcastle-united/leistungsdaten/verein/762/reldata/%262019/plus/1) for a potentially lengthy period of time. These are the flip-a-coin selection calls which managers must make and, in this instance, it did not pay off for the Magpies boss.

***Newcastle fans, what do you make of Bruce’s admission that he should have substituted Saint-Maximin earlier? Comment below with your views!***