31-year-old not spotted in Newcastle training ahead of season opener against Aston Villa

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Newcastle United are sweating on the fitness of Fabian Schar ahead of the first Premier League game of the season.

The Magpies welcome Aston Villa to St James’ Park for the first match of the 2023/24 campaign, and Eddie Howe could be without one of his star players.

Schar has not been seen since the 1-1 draw with Chelsea during the Premier League Summer Series. He suffered a hamstring problem during the first half of that game, and was forced off.

The 31-year-old has not played since, casting doubt over whether or not he will be fit for the season opener on Saturday.

Now the club have provided a bit of an update, and it is not good news.

No Fabian Schar in Newcastle training photos

Ahead of this weekend’s game, Newcastle have released a selection of photos from Wednesday’s training session.

Tino Livramento can be seen taking part for the first time, after his move from Southampton to Newcastle was confirmed on Tuesday. He will be hoping to make his debut against Aston Villa.

However, one player who is conspicuous by his absence is Schar. He has not been spotted in any of the 27 photos that the club released on their official website.

While it is not confirmation that he was not involved, the signs are certainly not promising.

Eddie Howe’s alternatives

With Schar seemingly still not back in training, the chances of him being fit to face Aston Villa are becoming slimmer and slimmer.

That means Howe needs to decide on a replacement, and he has two options.

The most straightforward one is starting Jamaal Lascelles alongside Sven Botman. He is right-footed, and has looked decent during pre-season. He would also have a point to prove, amid talk of Newcastle signing another centre-back.

Alternatively, Dan Burn could join Botman at the heart of the defence. However, as they are both left-footed, that would mean one of them would have to play on the wrong side – most likely Botman. If that did happen, Matt Targett would come into the team at left-back.

Out of the two options, starting Lascelles feels like the most likely.

Given how well he played last season, Howe will be really keen for Schar to feature. However, that is now looking increasingly unlikely.