It’s been a brutal month of injuries at Newcastle United, leaving us with just FOUR fit senior defenders in Lewis Hall, Kieran Trippier, Malick Thiaw and Sven Botman.
Yesterday brought news that Tino Livramento (hamstring) is facing eight weeks out, with Fabian Schar (ankle) expected to be missing for up to three months, making January signings and/or the return of Dan Burn and Emil Krafth all the more vital.
Burn has been absent since he was forced off at Sunderland a month ago, and revealed on Sky Sports last night that he’s expecting to be fit in a “couple more weeks.”
The 33-year-old admitted it left him in bed for three days straight and gave him the “most pain” he’s ever experienced, but his punctured lung has recovered and he’s expecting his broken rib to be fully heeled in a few weeks, suggesting we won’t see the big man until February.
“I am good. My lung is all right, the rib will be a couple more weeks.
“But I am feeling a lot better than I was a few weeks ago.
“It is the most pain I have ever been in and I was lying in bed for about three days but it got better pretty quickly.”
“It’s the most pain I’ve ever been in.”
Dan Burn gives a fitness update and says he will be ready to play again soon! ⏳ pic.twitter.com/wAcGJCf8sK
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) January 13, 2026
Asked if he will be back soon, Burn replied: “Yes.” However, with five more games to go in this mad month of January, Burn remains a big miss and new recruits feel essential now Tino and Schar are facing extended spells out.
Speaking after the game last night, Howe admitted that we are “really stretched” defensively and are pinning our hopes on Burn returning “pretty soon”, also hinting at activity in the transfer window now Tino is set to miss up to 15 games:
“It’s not the situation we want to be in. We’ve tried to rotate healthily. We can’t afford to lose anyone else.
“Defensively, we are really stretched. We are pinning our hopes on Dan Burn being back pretty soon.
“That would give us a massive lift. And, of course, the transfer window is also available to us.
“Tino’s information , we only got confirmation this morning, so we need to digest that and then see what we do.”
We may want the right player at the right price, ideally, but it feels vital that we bolster our defence this month if we wish to avoid a brutal end to January and tough February, with so much of our season on the line over these next six weeks.
