Newcastle United may finally get some positive injury news as Eddie Howe shares which players are close to returning ahead of a big game against Arsenal next weekend.
It’s been a very strange season not only in the sense that so many players have been injured during this campaign but it’s also the type of injuries that are not your typical footballing injuries.
Speaking to NUFCTV after the draw to Bournemouth, Howe claimed that Alexander Isak and Joe Willock are ‘quite close’ to coming back into the team while Elliot Anderson and Matt Targett are just behind them.
Newcastle’s injury-plagued season could take a turn
It feels like Newcastle’s injury list has been never-ending this season and that’s why fans will rightly be hesitant to celebrate the return of any player too soon at risk of further injury.
It’s been difficult especially for Isak as his striking compatriot Callum Wilson has also had to deal with big injuries and is now out for three months after requiring surgery on his pectoral tendon.
This has meant that Isak has more often than not been rushed back into the team earlier than he would have liked to cover for the 31-year-old and therefore has been more likely to reaggravate the injury.
Howe has done well to navigate his way through this crisis so far but there’s only so much a manager can do when the majority of his top players are spending long periods out of this Newcastle team.
The 46-year-old will now be hoping that the worst is behind him as they hope to welcome back four names in the coming weeks.
In the interview, Howe said: “We’ve got a group of players who are quite close so you’ve got Alex, Joe who I think are close and behind them you’ve got Matt Targett and Elliot Anderson who aren’t far away either so to get those back would be a huge boost for us.”
Howe need his Newcastle players back ASAP
We’ve seen already just how much these injuries are hurting Newcastle and again yesterday struggled up front without a focal point in the attack as players switched in and out of the central position.
It’s something that Howe is definitely going to want to address in the summer as Newcastle are very likely to move Wilson on as this is the last chance to get any kind of fee for the England international.
Heading into the final few months of the season Howe will be hoping that the worst is already behind them and that he can get a number of players back into the side to give it a real push in both the Premier League and FA Cup and try to end this rollercoaster of a season on a high.
The post ‘Quite close’: Eddie Howe shares which four Newcastle players are now nearing a return from injury appeared first on Geordie Boot Boys.