Steve Bruce has shared injury updates on FIFTEEN Newcastle players this morning – and it’s mixed news ahead of Saturday’s trip to Wolves.
It’s largely positive, with Bruce confirming that Almiron, Ritchie, Carroll, Dummett, Willems, Clark and Gayle will make it, but the game will come too soon for Allan Saint-Maximin – although the Frenchman is expected to return next week.
Elsewhere, Shelvey, Schar, Manquillo and Lascelles have also been ruled out, while Bruce has confirmed that Muto, Ki and Yedlin have all suffered new injuries.
Here’s what he’s had to say on the injury front during his pre-match press conference this morning – starting with an update on Saint-Maximin:
“He’s trained the last two/three days but he’s not ready for tomorrow.
“It looks as if Dummett and Clark ae well. Ritchie’s put himself in contention because he’s trained all week.
“Unfortunately we’ve lost two or three: Muto and Ki picked up knocks, and Yedlin’s got a sore knee – we’ll see how he is today.”
“Thankfully, Almiron is OK. Carroll and Gayle are OK. Today is an important day – we’ll count the fit players and see what we’ve got and pick a team from that.”
“Lascelles is very close, too. I imagine he’d be looking forward to Rochdale on Tuesday – I think it’s an ideal one for him. His injury was different because it was a little fracture, so as soon as that heals, he’s OK. He’s a naturally fit lad.”
“There’s light at the end of the tunnel. I expect the vast majority, by the end of next week, to be there or thereabouts which is good.”
Finally, it feels like our injury woes are starting to clear up, with Bruce not only confirming that SEVEN will return to the squad this weekend, but suggesting the likes of ASM, Schar, Lascelles, Shelvey and Manquillo aren’t too far away.
