Newcastle United’s thought process in regard to Yoane Wissa’s comeback is sound – and Alexander Isak proves it.
Isak hasn’t played well for Liverpool yet as he looks to return to full fitness following an inactive pre-season through his own making.
Wissa, meanwhile, hasn’t played for Newcastle United after suffering a knee injury back in September.
Hopefully, Wissa will return to fitness for Newcastle over the coming weeks.
Still, easing him back into action will be a gradual process and decision-makers at the club appear to know that. Indeed, they don’t want an Isak-like situation unfolding in front of their eyes.
With that in mind, a new update from Craig Hope makes sense.
Yoane Wissa does his trademark celebration after joining Newcastle United on transfer deadline day.
Photo by Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images
Yoane Wissa may not play for Newcastle United until December
On Thursday, The Daily Mail ran a Q&A session with Newcastle supporters.
Naturally, one of the questions asked was about when exactly Wissa would finally return.
MORE NEWCASTLE STORIES
Hope revealed that, according to his information, the 29-year-old will likely miss the next three Newcastle games – meaning he will play again in December.
Wissa isn’t thought to have suffered any fresh setbacks and insiders at the club want him to be in a position to make an impact right away, rather than rush him back and risk any fresh setbacks.
Like Isak, Wissa missed pre-season as he looked to force a move away from his club.
The Sweden star, however, has been playing here and there as he looks to recover his fitness and has since suffered a groin injury from which he’s only just returning.
Did Newcastle United make a mistake in paying £50m for Yoane Wissa?
It would be easy to rush Wissa back into action as soon as possible, particularly given Newcastle’s recent results.
However, the Isak situation has proven that players who miss so much action – admittedly through their own actions – need time to recover.
Newcastle should be learning from Isak’s early struggles at Anfield. They cannot rush this process.
Yoane Wissa is already under enough pressure at Newcastle United without taking injury gamble
Owners PIF weren’t comfortable with Newcastle’s deal for Wissa, given his age profile provides little in the way of resale value.
At 29, the DR Congo forward does not have long to prove worth that fee – one of the largest in Newcastle history.
Newcastle United’s top ten biggest signings ever
Nick Woltemade – £69million
Alexander Isak – £63million
Sandro Tonali – £55million
Anthony Elanga – £55million
Yoane Wissa – £55million
Anthony Gordon – £45million
Jacob Ramsey – £43million
Bruno Guimaraes – £41.5million
Joelinton – £40million
Harvey Barnes – £39million
He’s already under enough pressure to justify that price tag without taking a gamble on his fitness. To rush him back into action would be unwise, as frustrating as it is.
Wissa can only be judged properly when he’s fully fit. Taking any gambles just to get Newcastle out of their current funk would be the worst thing the club could possibly do.
If Wissa was to suffer a setback, it would only make the huge amount of money spent on signing him look even worse.