Newcastle United have been handed with a boost as both DeAndre Yedlin and Andy Carroll could be involved in their fixture on Thursday evening.
The pair of them both missed Saturday’s draw against Manchester City, and while they got on pretty well without them, the club and fans alike will be pleased that they’re both not going to miss the next month or so with such a congested set of fixtures.
Steve Bruce said (via The Northern Echo): “If they come through training this afternoon and have no effects, they could be involved tomorrow.”
The Magpies haven’t been the luckiest with injuries this campaign. With key squad figures such as Matt Ritchie and Jamaal Lascelles being out for big portions of time and unlikely to be available for a large chunk of the Christmas period, they can’t really afford to have a build-up of players unavailable.
Another return is also on the cards with Florian Lejeune edging closer to fitness. He has been back in training after having two cruciate ligament operations, however, he is being eased back by his manager to ensure he is ready upon his return.
“I had a conversation with him a week ago. I said you’ve had two big injuries so the longer he trains, the better physically and mentally he becomes.
“Yes, he’s ready, but the longer we can get him playing on the grass the better. He had a tough time. When the time is right, let’s hope we can introduce him and he stays fit.”, Bruce added.
It goes without saying that this is going to be a lift for the club. With Bruce favouring a three-man central defence – and with two of his most reliable out injured – Lejeune’s return could make the competition all the more fierce for Ciaran Clark, Federico Fernandez, Paul Dummett and Fabian Schar.
DeAndre Yedlin has already started six games so far this season, and according to stats from WhoScored, has been the best out of all the available right-backs (as well as Javier Manquillo and Emil Krafth) with a match average of 6.6/10 and is the only one to score.
Andy Carroll is probably the least exciting returns of the bunch – having only played 124 minutes so far – but is probably the most suited to replace Joelinton if he does get injured, so that’s an assurance for fans.