Newcastle Falcons’ Sammy Arnold Faces Extended Absence Due to Knee Injury

Newcastle Falcons’ centre Sammy Arnold is anticipated to be out of play for up to six months after sustaining a tear to the medial ligament in his knee. Arnold, who joined Newcastle from French club Brive in the summer, suffered the injury during the final moments of Newcastle’s victory over Saracens when he was hit from the side by Hugh Tizard, an action for which the lock received a red card. Falcons consultant director of rugby Steve Diamond commented on the incident, stating, “It was completely unwarranted.” He further added, “I don’t think it was intentional, but reckless definitely and Sammy’s looking at four, five, six months out.” In another setback for Newcastle, Diamond also disclosed that Argentina forward Pedro Rubiolo, who is slated to join Bristol next summer, will be sidelined for a period of three to five months after breaking his foot during training. Arnold has been one of Newcastle’s most prominent players this season since the Irishman’s arrival from French second-tier side Brive in the summer. While acknowledging that injuries are an inherent part of the game, Diamond expressed his displeasure at the circumstances surrounding Arnold’s removal from his team’s plans. “The game is hard enough as it is without doing things like that,” he remarked. Diamond elaborated on the incident: “The young lad was frustrated, they’re losing a game they’re not expecting to lose and in the 80th minute, he’s seen an easy target and effectively smashed his (Arnold’s) knee.” He concluded by describing the visual evidence: “It looks dreadful on the video. There was everything wrong about it, coming in from the side, targeting the knee. It’s frustrating.”