Newcastle United boss Steve Bruce has declared Allan Saint-Maximin the fastest player in the club's HISTORY.

Bruce has revealed the winger touched 36.8km/h when chasing a forward ball in the dying seconds of Sunday's 2-1 win over Southampton.

However, the exertion caused Saint-Maximin a hamstring injury that is set to see him miss the next seven matches with a return date of mid January.

"He was travelling at 36.8km/h in the 96th minute," said Bruce. "They don't think anybody has run that fast in the Premier League for us ever before, so what can you do? He ran 30, 40, 50 yards to chase it, it was proper sprinting."

Bruce, though, has bemoaned the loss of a player who has been influential in recent weeks. Indeed, without him in the starting XI, Newcastle have taken just two points this season.

"A football player can train every day of the week no problem," he said. "However, they can't play with that intensity and once they're fatigued, then you do run the risk. We'll kick ourselves, but unfortunately, these things happen."