Newcastle United have received a huge injury boost ahead of Saturday’s game against Aston Villa with Miguel Almiron back in training.
Almiron has not played for Newcastle since the 12th of March. He came off the bench against Wolves that day to net the winner in a 2-1 victory at St James’ Park.
Eddie Howe’s side have played four times since then and won every game, and have done so without their top scorer.
The Paraguayan suffered an injury on the eve of the Nottingham Forest game, with Howe stating that the thigh problem he picked up in training would keep him out of action for six weeks.
There have been positive signs since then, with Almiron posting videos on social media of him running as he stepped up his recovery. However, Howe did not expect to see the 29-year-old return any earlier than anticipated.
But after almost four weeks out injured, he is now back in full training with the rest of his Newcastle teammates.
Miguel Almiron takes part in ‘full’ Newcastle training
The update comes from Sky Sports reporter Keith Downie, who was at Newcastle’s training ground on Wednesday. He confirmed that Almiron is taking part in full training for the first time in almost a month.
“He was injured around four weeks ago, we were told he would face around six weeks on the sidelines,” he said.
“He’s back in full training today. Does that mean he’ll be back in contention against Aston Villa on Saturday? We must wait and see.”
Huge boost ahead of the run-in
With Almiron returning to fitness two weeks earlier than anticipated, it is a huge boost for Newcastle. Hopefully this means he is available for Saturday’s trip to Villa Park, even if it just means he is fit enough for a place on the bench.
His presence against Aston Villa would be a real boost, against a team who are a very different prospect since our last meeting.
Almiron was enjoying his rich vein of form when Villa headed to Tyneside in October. He scored the fourth in a 4-0 thumping, shortly before Unai Emery started his tenure.
He has since galvanised Aston Villa, taking them away from relegation danger and up to sixth in the table. It is a remarkable achievement, and Newcastle will do very well to extend their winning run on Saturday.
Hopefully Almiron is fit enough to feature, and it is great to see him back in training ahead of the final nine games of the season.
Receive a digest of our best Newcastle content each week direct to your mailbox
