Wissa, Botman & Guimarães: Latest Newcastle injury news and expected return datesplaceholder image
Wissa, Botman & Guimarães: Latest Newcastle injury news and expected return dates | Getty Images
The latest Newcastle injury news and return dates ahead of crucial games against Qarabag and Manchester City.
Newcastle United may have made it into the fifth round of the FA Cup with a 3-1 win over Aston Villa this weekend, but it wasn’t all good news in the Midlands – with two players unexpectedly missing from the matchday squad thanks to fresh injury and fitness concerns.
Yoana Wissa and Sven Botman both missed Saturday’s cup tie, while another less surprising absentee was Bruno Guimarães, who sustained a potentially serious injury in the midweek Premier League win over Tottenham Hotspur. With a Champions League game against Qarabag and a challenging trip to Manchester City coming up on Saturday, Eddie Howe is suddenly sweating on the availability of as many as eight first-team players.
With those games rapidly approaching, we’ve collected all of the latest Newcastle injury news below, along with the expected return dates for players like Guimarães when available.
Will Yoane Wissa & Sven Botman be fit to face Manchester City?
Summer signing Yoane Wissa was left out of the squad for the win over Aston Villa without warning, with Howe revealing after the match that the former Brentford forward had suffered an injury during training on Friday.
Describing the issue solely as a “knock” during his post-match comments, Howe added that “we don't think it's serious, but he may miss a couple of games.” With no further information about the nature of the injury made public, it’s unclear whether Wissa has any chance of facing Qarabag or Manchester City, but he heads into the next week as a doubt for both games.
Centre-back Sven Botman, meanwhile, apparently felt some soreness following the 2-1 victory over Spurs which cost Thomas Frank his job. Howe told the media that “we don't think it's a serious injury” and that “we certainly hope he won't be out for any period of time.”
Howe’s comments imply that the new problem may be connected to a hamstring injury which kept the Dutchman out for a month around the turn of the year. Like Wissa, Botman is now a doubt for the next two fixtures, although it sounds as though he is more likely to feature against Qarabag than his colleague.
How long will Newcastle’s Bruno Guimarães be out for – and will Lewis Miley be back?
While both Wissa and Botman are only expected to miss a minimal amount of time, the same sadly can’t be said for key midfielder Bruno Guimarães. The Brazilian injured his hamstring during the win over Spurs and will now be out for around eight weeks in what Howe described as a “massive blow.”
“I think it will be a couple of months,” Howe added of the 28-year-old’s condition. “We're probably looking at the end of the international break in March for his return.”
The good news is that impressive youngster Lewis Miley, who has missed the last four matches with a dead leg, could return this week. He remains a doubt for the Champions League play-off match against Qarabag, but is expected to be available for the weekend as it stands. The same could also be true for Joelinton, who is “doing really well” in his recovery from a groin problem and could come back in the coming days.
Longer-term absentees include centre-back Fabian Schär, who will return from ankle surgery around mid-April, full-back Tino Livramento, who has resumed light training after a hamstring injury and is expected to be back in the line-up by the middle of March, and Swedish defender Emil Krafth, whose return date is unknown as he rehabilitates after a serious knee injury.
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