Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce has delivered an update on Andy Carroll’s fitness.
The 30-year-old has yet to feature for his boyhood club since rejoining over the summer, but his manager has suggested that he is working hard and nearing a return.
As quoted in the Chronicle, he said: “Andy’s been on the training ground all week, swam at Benfield School – bloody hell! Unbelievable.
“I would still think at least the end of next month for Andy, maybe another three or four weeks”.
OPINION
The sooner that Newcastle United get Carroll fit, the better. The Magpies need something more in the attacking third, and while the big man won’t start every week or hit 20 goals a season, the unique dimension that he brings to a side is hard to undersell. Even last year, when he spent far more time in the treatment room than he did on the pitch, he still managed a colossal 9.1 aerial duels won per 90 minutes, as per Whoscored. That kind of organised chaos is hard to combat, and if he can get firing on Tyneside, then he could be a fantastic go to option for the Magpies in sticky situations. You can’t help feeling that there might be a fair few of those this season, and the greater array of choices they have at their disposal, the more likely the Toon Army are to get out of those scrapes.