Callum Wilson has teased that is nearing a return to action for Newcastle United after several months on the sidelines.
The Magpies' top scorer has not played since hobbling off with a calf issue in the 1-1 draw against Manchester United back in December. It was originally thought that Wilson would be ruled out for a couple of months, but the striker's recovery took longer than he hoped.
Wilson has travelled to Dubai and London for specialist treatment and the number nine has been working hard with the club's sports science teams in recent weeks. Although Eddie Howe confirmed that Wilson had not yet joined in with group training last week, the Newcastle head coach added that the 30-year-old was 'edging closer'.
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Wilson has since uploaded a compilation of all the goals he scored for Newcastle this season on Instagram. Rather than posting any words alongside the video, Wilson simply attached two emojis: a full battery and a full sand timer. It is the clearest hint yet that Wilson will feature before the season is out and team-mates Joelinton, Kieran Trippier, Matt Targett, Jamaal Lascelles and Isaac Hayden have been among those who have liked the post.
Howe will give a fresh update on Wilson's fitness at his press conference on Friday ahead of the trip to league leaders Man City and the Newcastle boss will also speak about Kieran Trippier's prospects of featuring against his former side after the England international also had a spell in the treatment room. Tripper sustained a foot fracture last February, but the England international did train with his team-mates for the first time since the injury last week.
Although Newcastle are safe, Howe is certainly not against using Trippier and Wilson if they are fit and available for any of the Magpies' final games of the campaign against Man City, Arsenal and Burnley.
"We definitely won't rush them back and put them at risk, but if they're fit and available, we will use them like we would any other player," he told reporters last week.
"They've had targets, they've set themselves goals to hit, and I think it's important when you're long-term injured that you have them things and that's helped them get back at the speed that they have. We will take it on an individual basis and we will try and make the right decisions, but we certainly don't want to put them at risk."
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