Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has hinted he could have a couple of key players return from injury in time for Sunday’s clash against West Ham United.
The Magpies have been without the likes of Bruno Guimaraes, Allan Saint-Maximin, and Callum Wilson in recent games, with all three suffering from hamstring issues.
Howe hinted last week that both Guimaraes and Saint-Maximin were “close” to a return but the pair remained sidelined for Saturday’s goalless draw against Crystal Palace.
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However, Saint-Maximin insists he will be "back soon" after sharing an update on his recovery on Instagram on Sunday morning, and with Guimaraes absent from the matchday squad against Palace all signs point to a possible return for the duo against West Ham.
After a hectic schedule of three fixtures in one week against Wolves, Liverpool, and Palace, Newcastle now have a week to rest up before their trip to the London Stadium on Sunday to face West Ham.
Howe said: “We probably need that little break, hopefully to welcome a couple of players back. There’s obviously no guarantee with that, because we’ve got training to do, but we've missed the individuals concerned. Bruno, Callum [Wilson], Maxi, Jonjo [Shelvey], they’re massive players for us, and we’d love to get a couple back soon.”
Newcastle have had a disappointing start to the season with just one win from their first six matches. But four draws has helped to keep them within touching distance of the top-half, with the Magpies currently in 11th place.
Luck has gone against Newcastle in recent games. After Liverpool snatched all three points with a 96th-minute winner at Anfield last Wednesday, the Magpies then had a goal controversially disallowed in Saturday‘s goalless draw against Palace.
Tyrick Mitchell’s own goal was ruled out after Joe Willock collided with Palace goalkeeper Vicente Guaita. West Ham were also victims of a VAR decision on Saturday after Maxwel Cornet’s equaliser was disallowed for a foul on Edouard Mendy from Jarrod Bowen in the build-up. PGMOL have since accepted that the decisions in both games were errors.
Howe insists that he will not have to pick his side up ahead of West Ham after a recent run of bad luck. He said: “I don't think I'll have to pick them up from today [against Palace].
“We will have a period of rest, initially, and let the players have some time away. Not abroad, just from the training ground, where it's been relentless the last period. It will be a little bit of time to reflect on their own and then we start again early in the week to prepare for West Ham.
"I don't sense that I'll need to pick the group up. It's back to work, focus on our next game. In terms of picking them up after Liverpool, yeah, we had to do certain things just to get the group refocused on this game [against Palace] and I was very pleased with the product."
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