The 34-year-old wants to stay on Tyneside but Eddie Howe may have no choice on his future
Newcastle United's Swiss defender #05 Fabian Schar (R) connects with Manchester City's English midfielder #47 Phil Foden
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
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Fabian Schar could be left sweating on his future until the last knockings of the 2025/26 campaign with Eddie Howe admitting the Magpies are entering 'unknown' territory.
The end of the season has spats of two years ago when Newcastle entered the final few games of term unsure on whether they would be in Europe or not. Back then, first-team squad members like Paul Dummett and Matt Ritchie boarded a plane to Australia for an end-of-season tour with no new deal signed.
They had to wait for the outcome of the 2024 FA Cup final and hope Manchester United were beaten by Manchester City at Wembley. But a surprise win for the Red Devils essentially sealed their fate and even though Howe requested the pair were handed one year extensions he was over-ruled by his board.
With Newcastle needing title-winning form, Howe accepted on Friday he could offer nobody guarantees until there is more clarity on whether another foray into Europe is likely or not. Schar has suffered an infection in his foot after attempting to make a return from an ankle injury to play his part in the run-in.
He was injured in the 4-3 win over Leeds United back in January and has not featured since.
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However, Howe stated on Friday that he would miss a further month of action taking him to the last three games of the season. Whether the home clash at West Ham proves to be a farewell for the 34-year-old remains to be seen.
After agreeing to announce 35-year-old Kieran Trippier's exit two months early, Howe was asked about the fate of the Swiss centre-back but said: "Yeah, no update on any other contract situation for us. Lots of unknowns for us going forward. So we'll make those decisions when we do."
Other senior stars with contract expiries on the horizon are John Ruddy and Mark Gillespie. Both are very much squad members and were hired to keep training standards high.
However, both are waiting for news on their future with Howe himself also knowing that failure to get into Europe could be costly.
Speaking about Schar's injury status, Howe said ahead of the trip to Crystal Palace: "Fabian, unfortunately, suffered an infection in his foot so he's been in hospital having a very small operation to get that cleaned out. He won't return for around a month, we think, so that's bad news on him."
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