Eddie Howe has been handed a huge blow as Callum Wilson is set to be ruled out for several months with a torn calf.
Wilson was replaced at half-time in our 1-1 draw with Man Utd but the severity of his injury was unknown.
However, the Daily Mail’s Craig Hope has confirmed the worst news possible for Toon fans as our number nine will be out of action for a “period of months.”
Further salt was added to the wounds with news of Allan Saint-Maximin AND Ryan Fraser also picking up injuries.
Maxi’s issue is also believed to be calf related whereas Fraser picked up a hamstring problem; which is another huge shame given his recent rise to form under Eddie Howe.
These three muscle injuries have likely been aggravated by an intense fixture list over the festive period.
Wilson’s injury in particular is a devastating blow to our survival hopes.
Mike Ashley had us walking on a tightrope by failing to invest in a backup striker and that gamble has now backfired drastically.
One small crumb of comfort is that his injury has come a few days BEFORE the transfer window and not three days afterwards… a striker must now be added to next month’s wish list.
Hopefully it won’t be a really serious grade III tear as he walked off and was putting some weight on it?
Makes the window more vital … who’s going to hit the ground scoring?
At least we have options … hopefully three teams will be worse than us.
#HWTL
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