Eddie Howe on Lewis Hall's Newcastle United return
Newcastle United forward Yoane Wissa will miss Sunday’s Premier League match at Brentford due to a knee injury.
Yoane Wissa’s Newcastle United debut has been pushed back once again due to a knee injury suffered while on international duty with DR Congo in September.
Wissa scored in DR Congo’s 3-2 World Cup qualifier defeat against Senegal before pulling up with a knee injury that was later diagnosed as a posterior cruciate ligament issue. While the injury was initially not thought to be serious, potentially keeping Wissa out for weeks - those weeks have stretched to months.
Now Wissa is at a stage where he is back on the grass and in light training but hasn’t kicked a ball in a match at club level in over five months. As such, Newcastle staff anticipate it will take Wissa several weeks to get fully up to speed once he is back in full training.
But ahead of Sunday’s trip to his former club Brentford (2pm kick-off), from whom he joined Newcastle from for £55million on deadline day, Wissa has not been involved in training.
In addition to the trip to Brentford, Wissa will now also miss DR Congo’s crucial World Cup play-off match against Cameroon next Thursday, as well as the potential qualification decider against Gabon or Nigeria - should they win.
Wissa will miss at least the next three matches for club and country with no clear return date as things stand. He could then miss up to seven more matches due to AFCON, meaning he is potentially ruled out for 10 more games for club and country as things stand.
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DR Congo full squad confirmed
Wissa was omitted from the DR Congo squad, with former Newcastle defender Chancel Mbemba set to captain the side.
Goalkeepers: Matthieu Epolo (Standard Liege, Belgium), Timothy Fayulu (Noah, Armenia), Lionel Mpasi (Le Havre, France)
Defenders: Rocky Bushiri (Hibernian, Scotland), Gédéon Kalulu (Aris Limassol, Cyprus), Steve Kapuadi (Legia Warsaw, Poland), Joris Kayembe (Racing Genk, Belgium), Arthur Masuaku (Sunderland, England), Chancel Mbemba (Olympique de Marseille, France), Axel Tuanzebe (Burnley, England), Aaron Wan-Bissaka (West Ham United, England)
Midfielders: Theo Bongonda (Spartak Moscow, Russia), Michel-Ange Balikwisha (Glasgow Celtic, Scotland), Edo Kayembe (Watford, England), Nathanael Mbuku (Montpellier, France), Samuel Moutoussamy (Atromitos, Greece), Ngal'ayel Mukau (Lille, France), Charles Pickel (Espanyol, Spain), Noah Sadiki (Sunderland, England), Mario Stroeykens (Anderlecht, Belgium)
Forwards: Cedric Bakambu (Real Betis, Spain), Samuel Essende (Augsburg, Germany), Brian Cipenga (Castellón, Spain), Meshack Elia (Alanyaspor, Turkey), Fiston Mayele (Pyramids, Egypt).
Yoane Wissa set to miss more NUFC matches
Despite Wissa’s omission and injury troubles, DR Congo football icon and former West Bromwich Albion midfielder, Youssouf Mulumbu namechecked Wissa as a reason to be positive heading into the upcoming African Cup of Nations in December.
Looking ahead to AFCON, Mulumbu has urged DR Congo manager Sébastien Desabre to give Wissa and his attack partner Cédric Bakambu ‘freedom to express themselves’ in the upcoming tournament.
“Our defensive solidity [is a strength for AFCON],” he said. “We concede very little. And that verve, that festive football that has always defined Congo.
“We’ve had artists like Trésor Mputu, Mbokani or Matumona Roum. Today, we have players like Yoane Wissa or Cédric Bakambu. It’s up to the coach to give them the freedom to express themselves.”
AFCON takes place in Morocco from December 21 to January 18. Should DR Congo progress to the later stages of the competition, as they did two years ago when finishing fourth, Wissa could miss a further seven games for The Magpies.
But first he must prove his fitness on Tyneside.
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