Eddie Howe has confirmed the Fabian Schar will not feature in Sundays friendly against Villarreal due to a hamstring issue, but is close to returning to training.
The boss was also quizzed on Tino Livramento after he was pictured in the stands at St James Park. He had no update on his seemingly imminent move from Southampton, saying hes a player I admire but until it’s done I will keep quiet.”
Back to Schar, the defender picked up the injury scare in our second Summer Series game against Chelsea and was subsequently brought off in the first-half.
Its believed that the hamstring injury is not too serious and wont keep the Swiss international out for too long, but naturally Howe is being cautious and not putting him at any further risk.
Hopefully hes back in training next week and fine for Aston Villa, otherwise we could see club captain Jamal Lascelles fill in on the right side of the defence.Either way, a centre-back is believed to be top of our priority list once a deal for Livramento is announced.
Heres what Howe had to say on Schar, followed by his message to BBC Newcastle on Tino Livramento:
“He won’t feature tomorrow. Fabian is close to training and returning to the group but not in time for this game.”
