Wissa: What's Wrong?

Yoane Wissa was signed from Brentford for £55M on deadline day after a protracted transfer saga that echoed the situation with Alexander Isak's move to Liverpool.

Wissa was expected to be the starting ST while our record £69M ST Nick Woltemade eased his way into Eddie's tactics and the pace and physicality of the Premier League.

That plan didn't last long.

Yoane suffered a knee injury on international duty that was later confirmed as a PCL - a posterior cruciate ligament injury.

Not as serious as the more common ACL which can, and has, kept players out for a year or more a PCL can take as little as 10 days to heal if the injury is mild.

But, this being Newcastle United, Wissa's PCL has clearly turned out to be worse than expected as Eddie Howe confirmed in his presser yesterday that as yet there is no date predicted for his return.

That statement contradicts Eddie's last update on Wissa when he said he was now "on the grass" and close to returning to training.

That seemed to imply that a previous expectation of a return by mid November was on target. Without a miracle that date seems to be a 'no go' and the games that Wissa will miss will continue to mount up.

It's now 14 games without Wissa in the squad - 9 Prem, 3 CL and 2 EFL Cup, and he could miss another 6 games if he isn't fit to play during November.

That would add up to 20 games for a player who without a doubt would have given Eddie serious extra attacking options either as a starter or off the bench.

So... what's wrong?

For Eddie to do a bit of an about turn on his recovery and now state that there is no return date surely means that either the injury is worse than expected, or that Wissa has suffered a setback.

Either way, it's concerning.

We all know injuries can take longer to heal the older you get and at 29 Wissa is in the 'mature' years of his career.

If he isn't back until December that could mean he will have missed a third of the season and at Wissa's age that might be a fair chunk of his best playing days over the course of his contract.

He also has to get back to full match fitness and we could be looking at January before he is the same striker that banged in 19 open play goals last season.

The one upside to Wissa's injury is that Nick Woltemade was thrown in early at the deep end and has come up leaping like a salmon. Plus, Will Osula has taken his chance to show that he is coming on in leaps and bounds as well.

One thing is for certain; Wissa won't be on the pitch at the London Stadium against West Ham tomorrow afternoon. But that shouldn't be an issue.

Because, as most of us fans have agreed, tomorrow's game is a 'no excuses' match where three points aren't a possibility, they are a no excuse necessity.

The Lads have to follow up the 2-0 win against Spurs with a similar performance away from SJP - with no repeat of the insipid display and defeat in our last away game against Brighton.

Nothing else but a win is acceptable.

Do you have concerns about Wissa's injury and how do you think the team will do tomorrow? Give us your thoughts in the comment section below.

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