Eddie Howe admitted that he may have found a ‘bright’ new option to deal with the recent number of injuries in his side, as Newcastle continue to work without some of their most talented individuals at this early stage of the season.
The Magpies have already lost midfielder Jonjo Shelvey to a long-term injury this summer, while the likes of Callum Wilson, Bruno Guimaraes and Allan Saint-Maximin have all been in the treatment room of late.
However, Howe has dropped a new hint over the availability of the aforementioned trio ahead of this weekend’s clash with West Ham United, where a return for just one of his stars would provide a huge boost to the Magpies.
Newcastle are in the middle of their free week to prepare for the trip to the London Stadium on Sunday, following two successive rounds of midweek fixtures, and Howe aims to take full advantage of the time off to get as many of his players fit and ready as possible in time to feature.
Guimaraes and Saint-Maximin have been sidelined with hamstring problems of late, but the 44-year-old has hinted that there could be returns for the West Ham fixture, although Wilson is said to be “slightly behind” the pair, as reported by Shields Gazette.
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, Maxi, Jonjo, they’re massive players for us, and we’d love to get a couple back soon.”
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Guimaraes and Wilson have failed to feature in Newcastle’s last three games, with Sean Longstaff standing in for the Brazilian ever since, while new club record signing Alexander Isak has taken over from Chris Wood in the last two fixtures to cover for Wilson.
Saint-Maximin was able to feature in the 1-1 draw with Wolves on August 28, before succumbing to injury himself as Ryan Fraser came in to take over responsibilities on the left-hand side, but the Magpies have visibly struggled without, arguably, their three best players.
But Howe may now have a new trick up his sleeve with young midfielder Elliott Anderson, who impressed during his cameo off the bench against the Eagles in an unnatural position on the left wing, yet has provided his manager with a ‘bright’ new option should both Guimaraes and Saint-Maximin fail to recover in time for Sunday.
As reported by Chronicle Live, Howe was full of praise for the 19-year-old following the game on Saturday, saying: “I thought he was very bright. We brought him on on the left as I thought the midfield three were doing well at that moment of the game.
“I didn't want to disrupt their rhythm when we had control of the game as sometimes if you make a change to an area that is functioning well, it can have a negative effect. So I put him wide because it's an area he can play very well. His chopping and turning in the box was very impressive.
“He put some lovely balls in with his left foot which we probably should have done better with. Very pleased with Elliot. He comes on, home game, lots of pressure on him but he still wants the ball in every moment. That's a big positive to take."
