Newcastle United are desperate to know when Yoane Wissa will be able to make his debut.
The hope was that it would be Saturday when Newcastle United face Wolves in the Premier League.
However, that will not be the case. Eddie Howe has confirmed that Wissa is unavailable due to a knee injury that he sustained while away on international duty.
That injury means Nick Woltemade is poised to start, which is not a major concern. However, there are concerns over how long Wissa will be out of action for.
One of the reasons Newcastle bought Wissa was his availability, yet already he is ruled out. It is rotten luck for the Magpies, who are braced for Barcelona’s visit to St James’ Park.
Yoane Wissa points to the Newcastle United badge on his shirt after joining from Brentford.
Photo by Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images
Yoane Wissa’s injury might not be ‘serious’
Following Newcastle’s game against Wolves, they entertain Barcelona in the Champions League.
With Toon fans hoping that Wissa will be fit to face Barca, the Daily Mail’s Craig Hope has shared some interesting information on the 29-year-old via his YouTube channel.
“This is my information [on Wissa’s injury],” he said.
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“This talks to what I was told yesterday and what I have tried to check out today. [I’m told] It is not a serious knee injury, that he still does stand a chance of playing against Barcelona.
“But before I would commit to that with any degree of confidence, let’s see what a specialist says. We have been here before with Sven Botman, where a player might feel and want one thing, when in actual fact it is something entirely different.
“Yes, I am getting encouraging, positive news and noises that he might be ok for Barcelona, but that might just be the player wanting to be that.”
Yoane Wissa’s injury record
Wissa joined Brentford in the summer of 2021. Since then, he has barely missed a game through injury.
During his first season with the Bees, he missed six games in all competitions with an ankle problem.
He then went two entire seasons without missing a game due to injury, before being absent four times in 2024/25 with another ankle issue.
That availability made him so appealing to Newcastle United, as they replaced the injury-prone Callum Wilson.
Alas, Wissa has not even kicked a ball for his new club and he is already on the injured list.
Hopefully it is not a serious injury, as Newcastle desperately need Wissa to help Nick Woltemade during his adaptation period. The belief was that Wissa would lead the line and score the goals as Woltemade settled into life on Tyneside, but instead the 23-year-old is going to be immediately thrust into the spotlight.