Last night brought the awful news that Callum Wilson has suffered yet another injury setback.
As revealed by Craig Hope at the Daily Mail, the 32-year-old is now facing another two months on the sidelines after suffering a hamstring strain during his 17-minute cameo at Brentford on Saturday.
Wilson has responded to the news with a message of his own on social media and, despite any of your frustrations at his injury record and absence over a busy period for the team, you have to feel for him.
In an emotional post shared across his social media accounts on Thursday morning, Wilson insists that no one is more ‘upset and frustrated’ as he is.
**_‘Despite all the hard work I’ve put in pushing to get back to full fitness, I need to take a little step backwards unfortunately guys._**
**_‘Frustrating as it is for everyone out there waiting for my return and to be able to help the team, these shortcomings also upset and frustrate me more than anybody else._**
**_‘I will, and I am doing everything in my power to rediscover the best version of myself and finally get off this emotional rollercoaster, which I’m hoping 2025 will bring._**
**_‘Appreciate the patience, love and supp__ort from all those closest that know how hard I really work and how professional I always am. Callum.’_**
After four months out over the summer, seeing him miss pre-season and all of our opening 11 games, it really is a hammer blow for Wilson to be ruled out of our entire festive period and all of January.
From a fan point of view, it’s easy for us to be frustrated and call out his endless run of injuries, but this will be so tough for Wilson to deal with from a mental, physical and emotional point of view, as we can’t quite see or feel the constant setbacks he has to cope with after months of hard work we don’t see.
If Wilson does returns around mid-February, he’ll be a few weeks away from turning 33 and will be just four months away from his Newcastle United contract expiring.
After missing 28 games through injury last term and this latest setback guaranteeing he’ll miss around 30 this season, it feels like the right time to accept he is no longer the reliable striker needed to cover for and compete with Alexander Isak.
Sadly for Wilson, this looks almost certain to be his last season at St James’ Park before he leaves on a free transfer in the summer of 2025.
With 48 goals and 11 assists in 112 games, he’s played a huge part during some tough times on Tyneside, but the fact he’s only played that number of games across just shy of five years tells its own story.