There finally appears to be light at the end of the tunnel regarding Newcastle United’s injury crisis.
Nick Pope is hopefully not too far away from returning, while Alexander Isak and Joe Willock returned during the 4-1 defeat to Arsenal on Saturday.
It was great to see the latter back, as he has endured such a frustrating season after doing so well in the 2022/23 campaign.
This year has been a real challenge for Joe Willock. He followed up a hamstring injury with an Achilles issue, then suffered a reoccurrence of that injury which kept him out until now.
The 24-year-old has been limited to just seven appearances this season, and Newcastle United have massively missed his presence. Our midfield has not been functioning as of late, but the belief is that could change now that Willock is back.
What Joe Willock will bring to this Newcastle United team
According to the Athletic, Newcastle coaches believe that having a player like Willock back ease their midfield issues.
Eddie Howe‘s midfield has been far too easy to play through as of late, leading to calls for a proper number six to arrive in the future. But Newcastle staff, according to the Athletic, believe that a player of Willock’s qualities will help address the current problems.
That should hopefully prove to be the case, largely because of Willock’s athleticism. We thrived with the same system last season, and that was with runners like Willock and Joelinton in the team.
For all of Lewis Miley’s ability, he is not quite athletic enough right now to thrive in the current Newcastle system. As for Sean Longstaff, he is out of form.
For so long, Howe has been unable to change things due to a lack of options. But now he can, with Willock back in the fold. It is unclear when he will be able to start again, but there is a lot of confidence that he can have a big impact.
He certainly did that on Saturday, coming off the bench to score on his comeback from injury.
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