Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe is happy with his squad’s injury status and fitness levels as they head into the Premier League opener against Southampton.
Due to the extra games, the Magpies had an injury issue the previous season and came in seventh place in the standings. Since United isn’t in Europe this time, they will try to take advantage of that.
Howe has brought back players like Nick Pope, Joe Willock, and Joelinton for the preseason, while Sandro Tonali has benefited from practices held behind closed doors in advance of his August 28 comeback. Callum Wilson is the lone new absence; he needed a back injection after getting hurt on the way to the Adidas headquarters in Herzogenaurach.
ACL injuries have kept Lewis Miley and Sven Botman out of action, while Jamaal Lascelles is still healing from a fractured metatarsal. After missing his last game in November due to an Achilles and hamstring injury, Matt Targett is back in the gym.
Howe declared, “We’re definitely in a better position than we were [last season].” Nick Pope is back and completely functional. While Joe Willock isn’t quite match fit, he is in a much better position. He’s played two games and trained hard, but he’s undoubtedly getting back to the player that we all know and love.
“We still have the effects of last year’s injuries with Jamaal Lascelles and Sven Botman, but several other players are in much better physical shape than they were. Sandro [Tonali] is clearly close to returning.
“We lost Callum in the first few weeks of the preseason, along with Lewy Miley. Matt Targett is returning slowly, but he’s trained brilliantly this week. Even while we still have work to do, we’ve come a long way.
Wilson is very close to making a comeback, but Howe says he will miss the first game against Southampton. That may be either the September 1 visit from Tottenham Hotspur or the away Carabao Cup match against Nottingham Forest.
Howe disclosed: “I believe Callum will play a few games early in the season.” He’s coming along rather nicely. We’re simply attempting to moderate his comeback, but he feels terrific and wants to go a little bit quicker.
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