Matthias Jaissle’s first big test as Newcastle United boss arrives quickly, with the German taking charge of his maiden Premier League fixture against Liverpool on Sunday, 23 August at St James’ Park.
Jaissle was appointed on a four-year deal after Eddie Howe’s amicable departure at the end of July, with the Magpies paying Al Ahli £9.5m in compensation to prise the coach away from Saudi Arabia.
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Howe left St James’ Park after nearly five years in charge, having delivered the club’s first major trophy in 70 years via the 2025 League Cup, but stepped down following a disappointing 12th-place finish last season.
Jaissle inherits a squad already dealing with a couple of fitness concerns heading into the Anfield outfit’s visit. Fabian Schar and Lewis Miley have both been sidelined through a groin strain and broken fibula respectively.
But the German boss has now provided a positive injury update on the pair:
“[Schar] is on the way back now. Hopefully, in the next days he will be included in the team training, and then we need to see if he gets some minutes already at the weekend,” Jaissle said as quoted by the Newcastle World.
“Like with Fabian, we’re hoping that in the next few days, [Miley] can be in the team sessions integrated, um, and hopefully, also he will get some minutes then.”
Beyond team news, Jaissle has also dropped hints about the business still to be done before the window shuts, with Newcastle already having lost key figures like Anthony Gordon, Bruno Guimaraes, and Sandro Tonali
“It’s a challenge, a big challenge, always when there’s a transition period, but it’s not time to complain,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense to see the negative things, we want to see the chance in that situation and that’s our approach from day one now.
“We’re here to do our best job, we want to support the players, the current squad. There will be adjustments definitely to see in the upcoming days, weeks, but for now it’s only focused on the daily work, on the work we can influence and that’s all that matters now.”