Newcastle United recently issued updates on Allan Saint-Maximin, Ryan Fraser and Javier Manquillo. Boss Eddie Howe spoke in today’s press conference about Saint-Maximin and his availability.
Via Newcastle’s Twitter page: “We’re going to make a late call on him – he’s been away getting intensive treatment. We said when he suffered the injury, it wouldn’t be long-term so we’re keeping our fingers crossed on him.”
The manager’s comments are similar to that of the club yesterday. So, there is no real update on his progress to recovery. Perhaps he might be called upon as a substitute for the clash with Brentford.
Last week’s performance proves Newcastle can get results without him
There is no doubt that the Frenchman is an important asset for the Toon. For a while, they struggled when he’s been sidelined with injuries.
However, in last weekend’s 1-1 draw with top-four challenging West Ham, Newcastle played well. It appears to be a turning point for the club, they don’t have to constantly rely on the winger and showed real character in the draw.
MORE NEWCASTLE STORIES
As great as it would be to see him play against the Bees, Howe shouldn’t take any risks with him. In the long-term, it would be better to let him rest should the injury still be serious.
The Magpies are already without Kieran Trippier and Callum Wilson for quite a while. If Saint-Maximin was to sustain a long-term injury, it would be a disaster.
A win would be big for Newcastle, they’d overtake Brentford and push further up the table. But it will be a challenge, the Bees will want to get out of the rut they’re currently in. They won’t want to be sucked further into the relegation battle.
The last time the sides met, it was at St James’ Park. The fixture was Eddie Howe’s first game in charge and finished 3-3. It will be interesting to see how far his side come since then.
It’s the Toon’s first trip to Brentford’s new stadium. Let’s hope that it will be a memorable first victory too with three points at the end of it.