Eddie Howe was asked about the injury situation this week, which seems to be almost the first question every week from our local journalists.
This is how Eddie responded this week to that question:
“Callum has trained well this week – we are really pleased with him. I thought he did very well with the 45-minute cameo he got against Luton. Harvey has worked incredibly hard; it has been frustrating for him.”
“You saw his quality, what a finish on his wrong side. In that moment, it kind of showed us what we have missed.”
” Anthony Gordon hasn’t trained this week but we don’t think the injury is serious. We hope he is back sooner rather than later.
“Alex (isak) won’t make this game, we hope he won’t be too far away, we don’t have a fixed date yet. He is making good progress.”
“They (Joe Willock and Elliot Anderson) are doing well – Joe is in the final stage of rehab and Elliot is not too far away.”
Callum looks like he’s almost ready to start and with Isak, he tends to take longer to recover from injuries than initially thought.
Harvey Barnes is essentially back to full fitness and he looked good last weekend and scored an excellent opportunist goal on his first appearance for months.
As Howe said last week, Willock and Anderson are working their way back to full fitness, but it’s been a long time out for both players.
Anyway, the good news is that we are getting the players back and we hope Newcastle can climb the league table and at least get into the Europa League for next season.
We also have a decent chance of doing well in this season’s FA Cup and are at Blackburn Rovers later this month in the 5th round.
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6 comments so far
magicmac54
Feb 9, 2024 at 1:35 PM
Comment #1Back of the net
Wor B
Feb 9, 2024 at 1:36 PM
Comment #2Only cos we were blue carded
Rotonda heights
Feb 9, 2024 at 1:50 PM
Comment #3Refreshingly honest
Eddie Howe has admitted Newcastle have made “mistakes” this season, most notably in the sphere of injury management, where he accepts players have been “overloaded”.
“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.
Not that Howe attributes Newcastle’s overflowing treatment room to sheer bad luck. “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,” he said.
If we are sitting here going we have not made any mistakes I think we are being fools. So, of course, we analyse everything. When I say we, I include everyone at the football club. It’s not about one individual or department. We are all in it together and, of course, we have to respond.
“We have to improve what we deliver for the players. Football never stands still. Demands are only going up physically. The Premier League is a lot quicker league than it was last year. The physical demands are greater. So your strategies and how you treat the players behind the scenes have to improve.”
King and his staff are analysing every injury. “We’re reviewing every one we get, and trying to find a reason why,” said Howe. “Some are freaks but there are some, usually muscle pulls, where you’re going: ‘Is there a way we could have avoided that?’”
Munster Mag
Feb 9, 2024 at 1:55 PM
Comment #4Rotonda, that doesn’t tally with what a good few were saying on here.
Well done Eddie, refreshingly honest as you said RH.
Wor B
Feb 9, 2024 at 2:00 PM
Comment #5Good words fro Eddie, any successful formula in a competitive organisation has a limited time frame.
If you sit back thinking you’ve cracked it you’ve already started going backwards.
Big business employ people on big bucks to constantly evolve and manage change.
Some people don’t like change, so it’s good to see Eddie actively winning hearts and minds by telling the story.
Davas
Feb 9, 2024 at 2:03 PM
Comment #6But that is what people have been saying. There have been freak injuries, overload injuries because of all the injuries and that the club would be looking at everything (not just “sack the medical staff’). They’ve replaced the head of physio.