Newcastle United were a minute away from a historic win against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night, with Eddie Howe’s injury ridden Magpies robbed of victory by a horrible penalty decision.
The Magpies’ injury crisis did not relent ahead of the Champions League clash in Paris, with Howe naming the same starting XI that beat Chelsea just days earlier. And the XI that started the game finished it too, with Howe opting against making any changes.
Newcastle continue to be without some key players, and it is unclear when they will return. The likes of Sean Longstaff and Joe Willock are out of action but their injuries are not deemed long-term, while Sven Botman is still hoping to avoid surgery.
As for Callum Wilson, he is stepping up his rehab after missing Newcastle’s last three games due to a hamstring problem.
The £20million man did not travel to Paris with the rest of the squad for the Champions League game on Tuesday night, and has now explained why he decided to remain on Tyneside.
Callum Wilson provides positive injury update after not travelling to PSG
Wilson has spoke about not travelling to France and his road to recovery on the latest episode of the Footballer’s Football Podcast.
“I didn’t want to lose any days travelling out there,” he said.
“And then the day of the game I would technically lose two days of rehab so that’s why I made the decision to stay back and, yeah, now I’m getting even closer.
“Things are going good. Feel good, feel fit, feel strong. Moving outside. I’m getting closer and it’s a point where I’ll soon be returning to training, on the physio’s say so.”
Newcastle desperately need Wilson back from injury
Wilson seems to be rather upbeat about his recovery. Based on his comments, it does not sound like he is too far away from a comeback.
The number nine is a big miss right now, as it means that Alexander Isak is our only fit striker – and he has only just recovered from an injury of his own.
Wilson will be desperate to get back and help his team, while he will also be keen to catch Isak in the Toon goalscoring charts. The Swedish striker now has nine goals compared to Wilson’s seven after scoring against Chelsea and PSG.
With Newcastle playing twice a week between now and the end of 2023, it is vital that Howe starts to get some players back from injury. Hopefully it is not long before we see Wilson back on the pitch, as that will ease the pressure that is currently on Isak’s shoulders.
His comments suggest that a comeback is close, so fingers crossed that is the case and there are no further setbacks.
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