Eddie Howe has been speaking to the press ahead of tomorrow’s trip to Fulham, issuing an update on the fitness front.
He’s confirmed that Lewis Hall should be back in training today after being taken off on Tuesday due to “fatigue”. He’s expecting the 19-year-old to be part of the squad at Craven Cottage.
Jamaal Lascelles’ ACL surgery has gone well this week, although Howe describes his loss as a “big blow.” The boss reveals that Tino Livramento’s ankle injury is “not as serious as it could have been”, with he and Miguel Almiron – who “tweaked his knee slightly” – expected to return in the coming weeks.
Callum Wilson is “looking good” after pectoral surgery and slowly building back his strength. Kieran Trippier has not suffered any setback, but is working his way back from a calf problem that’s taken slightly longer to heal than first anticipated. Nick Pope is on course to return at the end of April, but Howe is reluctant to rush him back after shoulder surgery.
Howe on Lewis Hall – “We hope that he’ll be fine and that he’ll be back training today. We anticipate he’ll be part of that group (at Fulham)”
Howe on Jamaal Lascelles – “A big blow for us and for Jamaal. He’s been excellent this season. Behind the scenes he’s been a key part of our leadership team. Initially for a player it’s difficult to accept that you’re faced with a long period of rehabilitation. He’s had his operation and that was successful so he’s already on the road to recovery.”
Howe on Livramento and Almiron -“Tino’s was quite obvious when you looked back at the footage. Strange really as the ball hits his ankle before it hits the floor. Thankfully it’s not as serious as it could have been. He could be back quite quickly. Miggy tweaked his knee slightly. Again, not a serious injury but enough to keep him out.”
Howe on Callum Wilson – “Callum is looking fit – doing the hard yards. Of course it’s an upper limb injury so he can keep fit and build his strength. He’ll be looking good when he comes back.”
Howe on Kieran Trippier – “No, he hasn’t had a setback. With Kieran, he had a calf problem that initially, look, I always try and give you honest feedback on scan results and timeframes, but those timeframes, especially early in the injury, are just that. They’re an estimate of what the injury will. Now some injuries, I’m sure people will be frustrated that the manager said it’d be four weeks, but it’s ended up being six, seven or eight, but that’s just the nature of medicine and science. So Kieran will be a little bit longer than we anticipated he would be, purely from the fact he’s had no setback but the injury is just taking long than we first thought. He’s had rescans and he’s been to see different people and we feel this is the best thing for him.”
Howe on Nick Pope – “We’re still hoping that it’ll be the end of April initially again, but similar to Kieran we’ll take the time needed to try and get him right”, Howe added. “If that’s a bit longer, that’s a bit longer, if it’s shorter than great. He’s out on the training pitch, he’s not training with us yet, he’s making the early stages in terms of diving and getting a feel for goalkeeping again. But it is early stages and we’ve got to make sure that we don’t put him at risk.”
Elsewhere, Anthony Gordon will return from a one-game ban tomorrow, but Botman, Joelinton, Tonali, Targett and Miley look set to miss out once again.
Eddie Howe provides injury updates for his Newcastle squad ahead of this weekends game against Fulham ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/A3ZQiGEm6J
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) April 5, 2024
