Newcastle United forward Yoane Wissa remains sidelined due to injury following his £55million transfer from Brentford.
The Magpies paid £55million for the DR Congo international on deadline day after he scored 19 Premier League goals for Brentford last season.
But Wissa hasn’t played any club football since May and his only taste of match action came with the DR Congo national team last month. The 29-year-old showed he was still sharp with goals in the matches against South Sudan and Senegal but he later pulled up with a knee injury against the latter which has had a knock-on impact at Newcastle.
Over a month after his arrival, Wissa is yet to make his Newcastle debut or even train with the first-team squad.
But it is likely he will be out for around another month as things stand.
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Eddie Howe gives Yoane Wissa Newcastle United injury update
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s match against Nottingham Forest, Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe said about Wissa: “Yeah, he went to see a specialist again [Thursday] just for a check-up on his knee, probably think it'll be more eight weeks than six, so maybe a slight delay, no reoccurrence, no problem, just maybe slightly longer.”
The delay of two weeks compared to the original prognosis gives Wissa a potential return date around the date of the West Ham United trip on November 2 or potentially against his former club Brentford the following week.
Wissa has already missed matches against Wolverhampton Wanderers, AFC Bournemouth, Arsenal and Nottingham Forest in the Premier League, Bradford City in the Carabao Cup, as well as Barcelona and Union Saint-Gilloise in the Champions League.
He will also miss the upcoming DR Congo World Cup qualifier matches against Togo and Sudan during the international break.
After that, he is expected to miss Newcastle’s matches against Brighton & Hove Albion, Benfica, Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur later this month before potentially being back in contention for the trip to West Ham, provided his recovery goes according to plan.
So that’s at least 11 matches Wissa will miss before finally pulling on a black-and-white shirt. But his absence won’t stop there.
Yoane Wissa already ruled out for more matches
If fit, Wissa is set to go away with the DR Congo national team for the African Cup of Nations between December and January.
DR Congo’s first group stage game will take place on December 23 against Benin in Morocco. The group stages matches will run through to December 30.
As a result, Wissa would miss a minimum of three Premier League matches against Chelsea, Manchester United and Burnley.
Should DR Congo progress to the knockout stages, he would also miss the home match against Crystal Palace and potentially Leeds United as well. Progress to the quarter-finals would rule Wissa out of Newcastle’s FA Cup third-round tie while progressing to the semi-final would rule him out of the visit to Wolverhampton Wanderers on January 17.
In that situation, Wissa would also be a doubt for Newcastle’s Champions League tie against PSV Eindhoven, which takes place on January 21, three days after the AFCON final and four days after the third-place play-off.
Overall, Wissa will miss a minimum of three matches for Newcastle but could miss up to eight matches if DR Congo progress to the latter stages of the tournament. Added to the 11 matches he has already been ruled out for since signing, Wissa will already be absent for 14 Newcastle matches before kicking a ball for the club.
That number could rise as high as 19 games should DR Congo progress to the later stages of AFCON.
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