Newcastle United have been dealt problem after problem on the injury front this season.
Eddie Howe has been – and remains – without a host of key players this season. Sven Botman and Harvey Barnes have missed large parts of it, while Nick Pope, Alexander Isak, Anthony Gordon, Joelinton and Joe Willock are just some of the names currently unavailable.
While not having so many players to select does not excuse those who have played of poor performances, it surely cannot be ignored.
Now, Howe has admitted Newcastle have made “mistakes” behind the scenes on the injury front.
Newcastle injury news: Eddie Howe admits to “mistakes”
Speaking on Friday ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash against Nottingham Forest, Howe said (via The Guardian): “We went into this season with a squad built to cope with all the demands we’d face and the competitions we’ve played in but, certainly, we’ve made mistakes. Certainly we could do things better.”
He then added: “Of course when you have the number of injuries we have had some of those have come from too much load or maybe our programmes are not good enough in the gym.”
Newcastle injuries: Season of frustration
Howe has also admitted the lack of consistency his team have shown has proven frustrating.
After all, this is a team who have beaten Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, Chelsea, Aston Villa (twice) and both Manchester clubs this season.
What makes it so galling is the thought of what Newcastle would have been able to do in the games they really shouldn’t have dropped points in were they to have had their full compliment available.
Given the sheer number of injury problems they’ve been forced to deal with, introspection seems wise. At some point, the idea of it being a coincidence is surely far-fetched.
Hopefully, solutions can soon be found.
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