Quantcast
Latest News

Newcastle’s “big presence” ruled out of return

|
Image for Newcastle’s “big presence” ruled out of return

Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has revealed in his pre-match press conference that Callum Wilson has suffered a setback and won’t be back for weeks.

The Magpies return to action in the Premier League this weekend when they host Brighton and Hove Albion at St James’ Park and taking all three points at home will be imperative.

Currently seventh in the league table, Newcastle have an opportunity to tot up their tally of points to stay comfortably within the conversation for a European qualification spot, and there will be an expectation to dominate in a home fixture.

The St James’ Park faithful will be in full attendance at 3PM tomorrow, with high hopes that the international break has given their players a chance to refresh and rest so that they can be at the top of their game when the Seagulls come to town.

Indeed, there were some injury concerns going into the break with star striker Alexander Isak suffering a toe injury last month, which left him unavailable for selection since the 0-0 draw with Everton.

However, Howe has now confirmed in his pre-match press conference that the Sweden international has recovered well and will be in contention to start against Brighton this weekend:

“Alex has trained well and trained well. He started this week and he has improved so at this moment in time he is in contention.”

Kieran Trippier has been struggling to offer consistent game time this season, and the Newcastle manager has confirmed that he will not be available for selection due to a hamstring injury:

“Kieran has picked up a hamstring problem. It’s probably nothing too serious, but it will keep him out for a few weeks.”

Most frustratingly is the further setback for striker Callum Wilson, the 32-year-old hasn’t featured yet this season due to multiple injury issues and will remain unavailable for another few weeks:

“Callum has trained but with Callum we will continue to assess him day by day. When we get him back we want to keep him back for as long as possible so it’s about making the right call.”

When will Callum Wilson return to action?

There is no doubt that Newcastle supporters will be incredibly frustrated with Wilson’s inability to get fit, as his absence puts a huge weight off pressure on Isak to stay fit for every fixture coming up.

The 25-year-old has had his fair share of niggles and knocks during his short tenure on Tyneside so far, which makes it even more difficult to accept that Wilson is his only back up, when the former Bournemouth goal machine can’t ever stay fit himself.

Over 20 Premier League appearances last season, Wilson – dubbed a “big presence” by Howe – scored nine goals and registered one assist, despite averaging just 50 minutes per game, demonstrating the impact he can make when he is fit, which only furthers the frustration.

At present, it is unclear as to whether Wilson will be fit before the next international break in November, but it would be ideal to have him available to at the very least rotate or come off the bench during weeks when fixtures are more congested.

Having said that, it will be a huge boost just to have Isak back to fill the centre-forward role this weekend, as Anthony Gordon was playing a makeshift role in front of goal and not being utilised to his full potential on the left flank.

Share this article

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *