Those of you with keen eyes may have noticed that Newcastle United’s squad for their match against Everton Friday night did not include Kieran Trippier.
The England international has been sidelined since picking up a knock against Wolves in early March, but it was believed that he’d return after the international break, and would have been in the squad to face West Ham on Saturday.
That was not to be, but it was suggested that he might be ready to face Everton on Tuesday, which did not happen.
He is now expected to miss Saturday’s match against Fulham, with The Athletic reporting that he could be out for another three weeks.
It’s krafu time!
Look, we understand that things happen and setbacks can occur, but doesn’t it appear that Newcastle players have experienced far too many of these “setbacks” this season?
With Tino Livramento out for around a month after rolling his ankle against West Ham, Emil Krafth is our only recognised right-back, and he has only recently returned from an ACL injury, which is always a concern.
Miguel Almiron, who was injured on Saturday, is also set to be off for a month.
There should undoubtedly be a probe into this season’s injuries.
However, they are preliminary projections, and at any point this season have any of our players returned earlier than expected? And how has it worked out for us on the few occasions that it has happened? (Answer: not very well… Sven Botman, Jacob Murphy, and Joe Willock).
Fans will be outraged if an examination reveals that the majority of these concerns might have been avoided if our medical personnel had adopted a different approach. Or is Eddie Howe simply instilling false hope in press conferences, and the players were never truly close to returning when he claimed they would?
The good thing is that we only have eight games left in the season, so we can put it behind us. Even if we do end up with a European slot, I don’t think anyone will be sad to see this campaign stop.
