Eddie Howe was reunited with Ryan Fraser upon his arrival on Tyneside this week, however it looked like the winger was set for another spell on the sidelines
Newcastle United confirmed that the 27-year-old withdrew from the Scotland squad ahead of their crucial World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and Denmark.
Many presumed his withdrawal was injury related, however The Chronicle have revealed that he took part in training in Howe’s first session on Tuesday – suggesting he’s actually stuck around in a bid to impress his former boss.
He refused to sign a new contract at Bournemouth when football was paused due to the pandemic, meaning he missed a run-in that resulted in their relegation.
As a result, many claim he left on bad terms with Eddie Howe, yet Fraser insisted in an interview last year that there was no bad feelings between the two – claiming they even met up for Coffee at one point.
So, is Fraser trying to build bridges with Howe or is this another sign that there really is no bad blood between the two?
Elsewhere, here are the seven NUFC player who will miss out over the next week after being called up by their countries:
- Martin Dubravka (Slovakia)
- Fabian Schar (Switzerland)
- Miguel Almiron (Paraguay)
- Jamal Lewis (Northern Ireland)
- Emil Krafth (Sweden)
- Jeff Hendrick (Republic of Ireland)
- Elliot Anderson (Scotland U21s)
Here’s all the games our internationals have to play over the two-week break (via The Mag), giving us an idea when all seven could be back on Tyneside:
Martin Dubravka
Thursday 11 November – Slovakia v Slovenia
Sunday 14 November – Malta v Slovakia
Jeff Hendrick
Thursday 11 November – Republic of Ireland v Portugal
Sunday 14 November – Luxembourg v Republic of Ireland
Emil Krafth
Thursday 11 November – Georgia v Sweden
Sunday 14 November – Spain v Sweden
Jamal Lewis
Friday 12 November – Northern Ireland v Lithuania
Monday 15 November – Northern Ireland v Italy
Fabian Schar
Friday 12 November – Italy v Switzerland
Monday 15 November – Switzerland v Bulgaria
Elliot Anderson
Friday 12 November – Scotland Under 21s v Kazakhstan Under 21s
Tuesday 16 November – Scotland Under 21s v Belgium Under 21s
Miguel Almiron
Thursday 11 November Paraguay v Chile
Tuesday 16 November – Colombia v Paraguay
With the above fixture in mind, we can expect Almiron to return late after another long trip to South America, however we should have Dubravka, Hendrick, Krafth, Lewis and Schar around for the majority of next week’s training sessions on Tyneside.
It’ll be interesting to see if Paul Dummett can get back out on the grass over the break, with him yet to feature all season after failing to make a full recovery from reoccurring calf injuries.
