Steve Bruce accepts that Florian Lejeune’s error-ridden performance against Leicester City was a consequence of him being overplayed during the festive fixture list.
The Frenchman - who only returned to senior action for Newcastle a fortnight ago after a long lay off with a knee injury - made two mistakes against the Foxes that led to goals.
But Bruce has sympathised with the former Eibar centre-back during the aftermath of the 3-0 loss at St James’ Park.
When asked if he had been overused Bruce said: “Possibly. Look, in an ideal world, I would have loved Paul Dummett or Ciaran Clark to be available - or one of the centre-backs to be available – and unfortunately, they weren't.
“To ask him to play four games is too much, but he'll be disappointed.
“Physically, he was OK because up until then, I thought he did very well.
“But he's given away the ball twice in a poor area and we've been punished.“
