Steve Bruce has shared a fairly unconvincing update on the fitness of Miguel Almiron and Jonjo Shelvey ahead of Saturday’s clash with Crystal Palace.
The NUFC boss admits he ‘doesn’t know’ whether either will make the game, saying he ‘hopes’ they’ll be in contention to return yet still doesn’t know how serious their injuries are.
Meanwhile, Sky Sports’ Keith Downie claims the pair are rated ’50/50′ for Saturday and could feature if they train with no issues on Thursday.
Here’s what Bruce has had to say when asked if either will make Saturday’s meeting with Palace at St James’ Park:
“We really don’t know with the injured lads,”
“We hope they’re not too serious. It would have been a huge risk to have played them, we couldn’t afford to do that.
“We hope they’re there or thereabouts for the weekend, but we’ll just have to wait and see.
“There are a few bumps and bruises coming out of the game, but you’d expect that.”
If Bruce still doesn’t know how serious their injuries are, it doesn’t seem likely that they’ll be back for Saturday, but Sky Sports’ take on both suggests they’re in with a real shout.
If they miss out again, we’ll have to hope their replacements, Christian Atsu and Sean Longstaff, are MUCH better than they were at Burnley last weekend.
Fingers crossed on all fronts!
