Newcastle United fans are eagerly awaiting the return of Callum Wilson and January marquee signing Kieran Trippier for the final games of the season. But supporters expecting the former to make a swift return to the starting line-up may be disappointed.
Top scorer Wilson has been out of action since December with a calf problem, while Trippier fractured a bone in his foot during last month's win over Aston Villa. The two dressing room leaders have been a big miss for Magpies boss Eddie Howe in recent games but are both stepping up their recovery during the break in Dubai this week.
The home game against Crystal Palace on April 20 has been pencilled in as a rough target for the duo to return to action. However, Newcastle fans should expect Howe to take two separate approaches when it comes to his star men.
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"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," he told NUFC TV on Tuesday.
"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 progressing 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."
Howe will be hoping he doesn't need to rush the crocked duo back into the fold as the business end of the season approaches. Newcastle have pulled themselves nine points clear of the drop after a stellar start to 2022, coupled with results going their way elsewhere.
Securing Premier League survival with games to spare would allow Howe to give the pair, especially Wilson, extra time to recover. Former Bournemouth hitman Wilson has missed 29 games through injury since moving to Tyneside in 2019. Hamstring injuries have plagued his Toon career thus far and the latest calf issue has caused him to miss a chunk of action during Howe's first campaign.
