Newcastle United midfielder Joelinton has been building up his fitness while back home in Brazil this month.
The 28-year-old midfielder’s 2024/25 season was cut short due to a knee injury that had previously sidelined him for a month between February and March.
Joelinton was able to get back and prove his fitness with some crucial performances to help Newcastle win the Carabao Cup and continue the charge for Champions League qualification.
But a flare-up of the knee injury ultimately prevented the Brazilian from featuring in any of Newcastle’s final five matches of the season. While the injury was not thought to be serious, Joelinton hasn’t featured for Newcastle since April.
Now he is preparing for a return to pre-season training at Newcastle on July 7 in an old but familiar environment.
Joelinton returns to former club for off-season training ahead of NUFC return
During his off-season trip to Brazil, Joelinton visited his former club Sport Recife to work on his fitness.
The Brazilian Serie A club posted a video of Joelinton training on its official Instagram page along with the caption: “It's always a pleasure to see you here, Big Joe!
“Our training center welcomed the player once again to train during his vacation. A great day to catch up with @joelinton34! ❤️🔥.”
Joelinton has been training at former club Sport Recife.placeholder image
Joelinton has been training at former club Sport Recife. | Sport Recife
The Newcastle midfielder could be seen in full Recife training gear as he performed various training drills and medical tests while also meeting some of the club’s current players. Joelinton started his professional career at Recife, scoring seven goals in 39 appearances before moving to Europe to join Hoffenheim in 2015 as a teenager.
Joelinton responded to Recife’s post by commenting: “My home. Thank you for everything...and to all the people who are part of the largest in the northeast ❤️ 🖤.”
With the majority of Brazilian clubs based down south around Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Santos and Porto Alegre - Recife are known as the biggest club in the North East of Brazil. Now he’s preparing to return to the biggest club in the North East of England.
Joelinton injury update
Seeing Joelinton back on the grass without any knee strapping comes as a welcome injury boost for Newcastle as he looks set to return to action for the pre-season opener at Celtic next month.
Speaking last month, Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe said: "He's working away behind the scenes. Typical Joe he's absolutely foot to the floor trying to get fit because he wants to be involved.
“The biggest possibility is that we don't see him again this season and we'll get him ready for next year.”
Howe’s words have turned out to be the case but Joelinton is expected to play a full role in Newcastle’s pre-season schedule as he looks to get back to full fitness ahead of the new Premier League season. Joelinton’s last Premier League outing came away at Aston Villa back in April, now it looks set to be his competitive return date on the opening day of the season on August 16 (12:30pm kick-off).
Before that, Newcastle face Celtic, Arsenal, K League XI, Tottenham Hotspur, Espanyol and Atletico Madrid in pre-season.
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