Steve Bruce has been speaking to the press this morning for the first time in a fortnight ahead of tomorrow night’s clash with Manchester United.
Starting with his injury update, he’s revealed that everyone returning from international duty is fit to play on Saturday – meaning Fabian Schar, Jamal Lewis, Miguel Almiron, Ryan Fraser, Emil Krafth and Jeff Hendrick have returned unscathed.
There’s no direct update on Jamal Lascelles, however he was in training photos yesterday so appears to be fit after missing our 3-1 win over Burnley.
The boss has also confirmed that Paul Dummett, Ciaran Clark and Matty Longstaff are ‘on the road to recovery’ after returning to training over the past week, stating that all three will play in the U-23’s clash with Fulham on Monday night.
Sadly, the bad news is that Bruce has admitted that Martin Dubravka’s heel injury isn’t recovering as quickly as he hoped, meaning he’ll remain out alongside Matt Ritchie and Dwight Gayle after club doctors refused to put a timescale on his recovery.
Bruce also stated that it’s been “very quiet” on the outgoing front for the likes of Henri Saivet, Achraf Lazaar, Christian Atsu and DeAndre Yedlin, saying he “doubts” any of the above will leave before today’s EFL deadline:
Here’s what he’s had to say, starting with an update on our international players:
Bruce on injuries:
“All the internationals returned OK. Jamal Lewis returned earlier but that was pre-agreed & he’s fine. Great news for Ryan Fraser scoring & playing well. It’s done him the world of good, that’s for sure”
Bruce on M Longstaff, Dummett and Clark:
“Thankfully he (Matty Longstaff) trained for the last week or 10 days.
“On Monday, the U23s play Fulham & we’ll play him, Ciaran Clark and Paul Dummett to get them all 90 minutes.
“They all look like they’re on the road to recovery”
Bruce on Dubravka:
“We never really put a timescale on someone who’s had an operation but it’s fair to say that his recovery is slower than we would have liked,”
“We’ve not put a timescale on it – we’ve just got to let nature take its course.”
Bruce on outgoing transfers:
“One or two enquiries but that’s about it, really. It’s been very quiet.
“It’s disappointing for the lads who obviously need to go and play so we’ll see what happens in the next few hours but I would doubt it”
Steve Bruce also had this to say on Saint-Maximin after the Frenchman signed a new improved contract at Newcastle this week:
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Can we not just cancel the contracts of Lazaar and Saivet and get them off our books? They are draining the club and taking up spaces.
taken4mugs(Quote)
How much is the release clause value on the Saints new contract. Hopefully too high for most.
Rick(Quote)