Yoane Wissa has not trained with Newcastle United since his £55million move on September 1.
Alan Shearer believes Yoane Wissa faces a tough decision on whether to ditch the upcoming African Cup of Nations.
Newcastle United are yet to see the DR Congo striker in action since his £55million move from Brentford. In truth, Wissa did not even train for the Magpies before suffering a knee injury on international duty.
He went down unchallenged against Senegal last month and Toon fans immediately began fearing the worst. Scans later confirmed Wissa would miss up to six weeks - a timeline that has since added a fortnight.
Yoane Wissa’s AFCON conundrum
Wissa’s injury woes are compounded as Newcastle know they will miss him during the AFCON break. The tournament takes place during the festive period - a chaotic stage of the season.
As it stands, Wissa will miss games against Chelsea, Manchester United and Burnley. Any further omissions depend on how DR Congo progress at the AFCON.
There have been calls for Wissa to prioritise Newcastle given his lack of action so far. However, the Magpies are helpless to stop the 29-year-old from competing for his country.
Alan Shearer on Yoane Wissa decision
Toon icon Shearer has suggested Wissa should not have played as much for DR Congo during the September international break given his lack of pre-season. He said: “It will be a really difficult decision for Wissa not to go to AFCON because you always want to represent your country.
“But what I would say is, because of him not training or playing during the summer, he could’ve shown more responsibility in not playing as much as he did in those two games when he went away on international duty and hadn’t played at all. But it’s really tough to say to someone they can’t and won’t represent their country when it means so much.
“And we know AFCON is huge and players want to play in that tournament. It’ll be a tough ask, but I understand that there’ll be a lot of people thinking that he’s never played for Newcastle and he needs to show some loyalty towards us.
“I get it and understand that point-of-view because Newcastle shelled out a lot of money on him and he hasn’t been able to take to the St James’ Park turf as yet. It’d be a really tough decision for him and Newcastle. Whether there’s a way around it, I’m not so sure.”
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Yoane Wissa on joining Newcastle United
Following his move, Wissa told the club's official website: "I'm really happy to be here and to sign for one of the biggest clubs in the Premier League.
"I'm very excited to put on the black and white shirt. I've got dreams, I've got faith and now I will do my best to make it all happen. I can't wait to get started."
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