NEW CASTLE: Eddie Howe has revealed when he thinks injured duo Callum Wilson and Kieran Trippier will finally return to the Newcastle United first team.
The pair have been out since Dec. 27 and Feb. 13, respectively, with calf and foot injuries.
And while hopes had been high one or both would be back in contention this week, with United taking on Crystal Palace on Wednesday and Norwich City on Saturday, Howe has hinted that the Liverpool game on Saturday, April 30 could well be a more likely return date for the duo.
“I don’t think either will be involved next week, against Crystal Palace or Norwich,” Howe said, following the club’s last-gasp, Bruno Guimaraes-inspired victory over Leicester City.
“Maybe, maybe after that who knows? I am not putting a game on it — as there are still a lot of unknowns. Neither player has really done too much on the grass just yet, but they are working toward that.
“Luckily the team is in good form, so we are in a position where we don’t have to rush them back, but we still have enough games to see them before the end of the season,” he added.
Fans have been getting excited by pictures of both Wilson and Trippier out on the pitches of the club’s Benton training base in recent weeks — and Howe has revealed that the players will both step up their recovery this week, with England defender Trippier a little ahead of Wilson.
Howe said: “They will definitely be stepping it up. I don’t think they will be with us, training with the group.
“There will definitely be a handover period for Kieran where he will go with our sports science guys in the near future but that hasn’t happened yet. Both players are still with physiotherapists.”
One player Howe is hoping to have back available for selection against Patrick Vieira’s Eagles is Javier Manquillo. The Spanish former Liverpool and Atletico Madrid full-back missed the Foxes’ clash with an illness.
“We will wait and see. Javier was ill. Obviously with Emil (Krafth) missing training we were short of right-back options but thankfully Emil came through. Hopefully we can get Javier back soon,” he added.
Despite Guimaraes’ match-winning performance and two-goal salvo, Krafth was arguably United’s stand-out player, as he first dealt with Ademola Lookman, then Harvey Barnes and James Maddison with ease at St. James’ Park on Sunday.
Howe was full of praise for the Sweden international, whose improvement has flown under the radar this campaign.
On Krafth, he said: “Very, very good. Emil was one of the players who I spoke about in the press conference saying he was struggling with an illness, so he didn’t train much last week. He deserves credit for putting himself out on the pitch. He cramped at the end, due to the fact that nutritionally he was slightly down.
“What a performance from him, especially against a fresh Harvey Barnes coming on the pitch. I have been hugely impressed with Emil as a person and a player — he deserves a lot of credit,” Howe added.