24-year-old Newcastle player shares fitness update after nine-game absence

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One Newcastle United player has given an update on his fitness on social media after the deflating loss to Luton yesterday afternoon.

Joe Willock has featured in just three Premier League games this season having been injured for the start of the campaign and then picking up another knock after the defeat to Bournemouth last month.

The midfielder posted a video of himself working on an exercise bike today on his Instagram story as he looks to build himself back to full fitness.

Newcastle have missed Willock’s energy in the last month

It’s been an incredibly poor run of games for the Magpies who have seen themselves within seconds of qualifying for the Champions League knockout rounds and Carabao Cup semi-final, but instead crashed out of both.

That has also been coupled with three defeats in the last four in the Premier League with Newcastle really needing to get things back on track ahead of the transfer window.

The defeat to Luton in particular highlighted just what a disappointing run Newcastle are on, and it showed how much they miss the energy and directness of Willock in midfield.

He may not have the greatest of goal records, but Willock is exactly the type of player you need to drive you up the pitch and make something happen when your style of play looks a little stale and is struggling to create chances.

On his Instagram story, Willock captioned the video with: “Trusting the process.”

Willock’s return is still unknown

Though he’s posted a positive update, it’s still unclear when Willock will be returning to the Newcastle team after struggling with an issue with his Achilles tendon that has seen him miss the last nine games across all competitions.

Willock also missed the start of the season with a hamstring problem that he picked up at the back end of the previous campaign, so he’s really not had much luck this year.

It’s understood that the midfielder will be out until at least January with the game against Manchester City a possible target for his return, but Howe is keeping his cards close to his chest as ever.

What the club will be desperate for is to ensure that Willock doesn’t reaggravate the injury again by returning too soon as his absence has been a huge blow to the team.