Gordon, Pope & Tonali: Latest Newcastle injury news and expected return dates ahead of Manchester City clashplaceholder image
Gordon, Pope & Tonali: Latest Newcastle injury news and expected return dates ahead of Manchester City clash | Getty Images
The latest Newcastle injury news - with updates on Anthony Gordon, Nick Pope, Yoane Wissa and more.
Newcastle United return to Premier League action on Saturday when they welcome title challengers Manchester City to St. James’ Park – and Eddie Howe will be sweating on the fitness of several key first-team players ahead of what promises to be a challenging match.
Anthony Gordon, Nick Pope and Joelinton all missed out on the opportunity to add to their collection of international caps due to injuries, while Sandro Tonali withdrew from Italy’s squad last weekend to give the Magpies another scare ahead of the game against Pep Guardiola’s side.
In total, there are seven players set to be out or doubts for Saturday’s game – so we’ve got all of the latest Newcastle injury news below along with the stricken players’ expected return dates when available.
Will Anthony Gordon, Nick Pope and others be back in action for Newcastle?
Anthony Gordon’s fitness is among the biggest worries for Newcastle heading into the match against Manchester City after he withdrew from England’s squad due to what Howe had described as a “minor” hip injury – but the issue may be more serious than the club had hoped.
The Chronicle report that Gordon, who had been expected to make a full recovery by the weekend, had yet to return to training and was viewed as “50-50” for Saturday. Newcastle have not yet confirmed whether or not they expect the winger to be involved.
There is also considerable uncertainty over the availability of first-choice goalkeeper Nick Pope, who is hoping to clear the concussion protocol in time for the game, but both Joelinton (lower leg) and Valentino Livramento (knee) should be available – Joelinton missed out on the Brazil squad with a bad cut but should be ready to play, while Howe has described full-back Livramento as being “on track” to face City. William Osula (ankle) is also expected to be available if required.
Why did Sandro Tonali leave the Italy squad – and will Yoane Wissa be fit to face Manchester City?
Newcastle got a fresh scare over the international break when Italy manager Gennaro Gattuso sent midfielder Sandro Tonali home ahead of the Azzurri’s 4-1 World Cup qualifying defeat to Norway – but it doesn’t sound as though Tonali will miss any time for his club, at least.
Gattuso told the press that Tonali “doesn’t have any physical issues” and that the decision to release him from the squad was made in order to prevent him from being suspended for March’s play-off matches should he have picked up another yellow card. There are no indications that Tonali will be unavailable on Saturday.
Meanwhile, summer signing Yoane Wissa is inching towards a comeback from a knee injury and has returned to training, but most reports indicate that he may have to wait another week or two before making his long-awaited debut, with Howe suggesting before the break that he was short of match fitness.
There is some chance that Howe could spring a surprise by including Wissa in the squad to face City, but the home match against Everton on 29 November may be a more realistic target for the Congolese forward. The club have not confirmed his availability either way as yet, however.
The only other player presently injured is full-back Harrison Ashby, who remains sidelined with a thigh injury and does not have a publicly-available return date as yet, but Dan Burn will also miss out against City due to suspension. Fortunately, it is believed that Lewis Hall will be fit to start at left-back after a string of fitness issues.