Eddie Howe confirms 'important' Newcastle United injury boost with £124m duo available for Sunderland clash
Eddie Howe confirms 'important' Newcastle United injury boost with £124m duo available for Sunderland clash
Newcastle United have been boosted by the availability of both Yoane Wissa and Nick Woltemade for the first time since their summer arrivals.
Wissa, who joined from Brentford for around £55million on September 1, was named in a matchday squad for the first time at the weekend and made his debut as a 75th-minute substitute during the 2-1 win over Burnley at St James’ Park. The forward has spent three months recovering from a posterior cruciate ligament injury suffered on international duty with DR Congo.
Eddie Howe praised the 29-year-old’s attitude and patience during his rehabilitation, saying: “Really important. I think he's done a lot of work to get to this point. He's got a lot more work to do to get to the very best level that he can. Yeah, very pleased to have him available. We hope to keep him available by managing correctly. It's difficult with the spell of games that we have… hopefully we can find a solution to it.”
Wissa replaced Woltemade late on – a change Howe expects to see more regularly as they rotate over the festive run. “Yeah, I think once Yoane gets up to full speed, I'd say he's probably a little bit short of that at the moment, being able to start again, but we'll make that decision game by game.”
Newcastle rebuilt their attack in the summer, with Callum Wilson moving on and Alexander Isak joining Liverpool for a British-record fee of around £130m. Woltemade then arrived from Stuttgart for £69m before Wissa followed him to Tyneside, though injuries delayed the chance for both to be available together.
Howe welcomed the variety they offer: “Yeah, I think they're very different players. They're very different players by stature, firstly… they bring similar qualities in the respect that they're both technically very good. Yoane will take a while to get to his very best level… Nick will take a while to fully adjust to the Premier League… but I think he's made a great start, so I think it's very positive for both players.”
Régis Le Bris offers injury update
Régis Le Bris says Sunderland midfielder Habib Diarra is set to miss next weekend’s Wear-Tyne derby, with the head coach admitting the fixture against Newcastle United will likely come too soon for the 21-year-old.
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Diarra has been stepping up his recovery following groin surgery earlier this season and had been in a race to return in time for the derby. While progress has been positive, Le Bris believes the timing will work against him. The Frenchman did, however, offer encouragement elsewhere, revealing that Reinildo is expected to return after sitting out the 3-0 defeat to Manchester City with a groin issue. "For Rei, it could be okay but for Habib, it would be too short, I think," Le Bris said.
Sunderland will also have Granit Xhaka and Noah Sadiki available for the derby after both avoided a booking at the Etihad. Le Bris moved to withdraw the pair late on, protecting them for Sunday’s clash, with Romaine Mundle and Simon Adingra introduced instead.
Le Bris later explained his decision not to turn to Dan Neil was to keep attacking momentum, with Lutsharel Geertruida pushed into midfield. "Yes, because we tried to stay in the game, to provoke something," he said. "I think with offensive players on the side, it was more or less the idea. It didn't work, but we tried."