Florian Lejeune banked a useful 71 minutes of match practice for Newcastle United’s second string at Villa Park on Monday night.
The Toon reserves were beaten 3-2 but this was a big step in the right direction for the former Eibar defender .
After playing 45 minutes in last week’s 2-2 draw with Middlesbrough, Lejeune is on course for a Premier League return after the international break.
Steve Bruce hinted he would not risk the French defender against Bournemouth but the Toon boss will be delighted to see him play twice in a week after a knee injury kept him on the sidelines for over six months.
Lejeune got through the game at Villa and even threatened to score with a shot at goal after four minutes in the Premier League 2 clash.
United slipped behind on 23 minutes as Tyreik Wright handed Villa the lead. But Newcastle levelled the game up five minutes before half-time as Luke Charman headed home Jack Young’s corner.
Villa went back ahead when Jacob Ramsey raced through to beat Dan Langley to give them a 2-1 lead at the interval.
The young Magpies refused to give up though and on 68 minutes Thomas Allan’s cross found Charman again who headed home his second.
Yet there was late heartache for Neil Redfearn’s side as Michael Tait won it for Villa with a 90th minute strike.
