Earlier today, a couple of fan sites spotted that Kieran Trippier was not involved in any of the training photos released by the club on Wednesday.
It was a concern to see our vice-captain and on-field skipper seemingly absent, but there may be a good explanation as to why he was absent from all 64 pictures published on NUFC.co.uk.
After Sunday’s 1-0 win over Fulham, The Athletic’s George Caulkin revealed a brief conversation with the 32-year-old, who revealed that he’d picked up a “massive cut” on his foot during the match.
Trippier posted a picture of gash on his Instagram story after the game and it wasn’t pretty, so it’s very possible Howe has kept him away from contact sessions over the past few days to allow the cut to heal.
Who knows, but this seems a plausible explanation for his absence and reason for fans not to panic ahead of Saturday’s trip to Selhurst Park; where our reliable right-back is likely to be up against Wilfried Zaha.
Here’s what Caulkin wrote in his latest piece for The Athletic – a line that may well explain why Trippier didn’t train yesterday:
“Kieran Trippier rolled down his right sock; red welts streaked the crown of his foot. “There,” he said, pointing. “I’ve got a massive cut. I can’t even remember going in for a tackle.” It was that sort of match.“
Ironically, it’s thought the cut may have come from his clash with Bobby Decordova-Reid. This somehow led to a Fulham penalty, yet replays show the winger actually stamped on Trippier’s foot.
Elsewhere, it’s interesting to see that Chris Wood did train on Tyneside yesterday despite strong links with Nottingham Forest, with wantaway winger Ryan Fraser also pictured.
