Newcastle United ’s forgotten man Kieran Trippier is edging closer to a return from injury and has provided a positive update on social media of his progress as he works his way back from a long-term problem.
The 31-year-old has been out of action since February 13, in which he fractured a metatarsal in his foot following the 1-0 victory over Aston Villa where his sublime free-kick proved to be the only goal of the game.
But the January transfer window signing from Atletico Madrid has now taken to social media to provide fans with a positive update on his comeback from injury, as he continues his rehabilitation following successful surgery.
Trippier uploaded a post to his Instagram account which included a series of photos of him on an anti-gravity treadmill at Newcastle ’s Darsley Park training centre, of which he is all smiles in the first picture. He captioned the post: "Working hard on my rehab, be back soon."
Manager Eddie Howe recently gave a cautious update on Trippier and fellow injury victim Callum Wilson.
"I'd say they're on schedule from where they were given their respective injuries, but I wouldn't say necessarily ahead of schedule," said head coach Howe. "They're both serious injuries, both enough to obviously be operated on and go through a very intense rehab period.
"Callum's injury, you have to be very careful with … that we don't push him back too quickly, and he ends up injuring himself again, because the Achilles/calf is a very delicate area of the body, and you need to make sure it's robust enough to withstand heavy load.
"Kieran's is slightly different. (It's) a bone injury, and, I think, touch wood, if he can come through the early stages of coming out in his boots, and then progress quite quickly, he's one we could see back in action hopefully pretty soon.
"But with both injuries, I do think we have to be very cautious. We don't want to re-injure the player."
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However, despite caution from Howe, Trippier's latest update suggests fans may not have to wait much longer to see him in action once again, having missed the previous six games after making his first five appearances for the club.
The former Tottenham defender joined for £12 million from La Liga outfit Atletico Madrid in January in what was seen as one of the best deals of the season, as the Magpies set about drastically improving their squad in order to fight off relegation to the Championship.
After making his debut for the Magpies in the shock 1-0 home defeat to Cambridge United in the FA Cup Third Round, Trippier then scored twice in his next four appearances with two free-kicks as Eddie Howe’s side climbed out of the relegation zone.
Trippier’s experience has proved vital both on and off the pitch since joining and it was clear how much of an instant impact he made in those first five games for the Magpies, with there being fears over how Newcastle would cope without him for the rest of the season when he suffered his injury.
But they won three of their next four games without Trippier, with Swedish international Emil Krafth coming in as his replacement, before losing three in a row to Chelsea, Everton and Tottenham to end their nine-game unbeaten streak.
Trippier's return will be much appreciated by all involved with the club, as they now sit just seven points above the drop zone and will look to have a strong end to the season to confirm their safety. However, they will have hoped to achieve that by the time he returns.
