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Steve Bruce confirms six injured Newcastle United players missing for Liverpool

5 years ago
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Steve Bruce has given an update on Tuesday regarding the injury situation at Newcastle United.

The NUFC Head Coach hoping that nobody adds to the injury list when they come back off international duty.

Bruce has indicated that six players will definitely miss Saturday’s game at Anfield.

As well as longer-term injuries Florian Lejeune and DeAndre Yedlin, Matt Ritchie will of course be missing. However, Steve Bruce believes that rather than the early eight week absence predicted, the Scottish international could be back in only four or five weeks.

Andy Carroll is back training but only ‘non-contact’, Bruce saying mid-October at the very earliest before he might be back.

Whilst as for Allan Saint-Maximin who Steve Bruce stupidly started at Tottenham only 48 hours after he returned to full training, there is no suggested return date and it doesn’t sound as though he will be back any time soon.

The worst news is on Dwight Gayle, as Steve Bruce says there is still no improvement on his calf injury which has ruled the striker out since Bruce’s arrival at the club.

Rather surprisingly/naively, Steve Bruce admits ‘I haven’t really seen the internationals’, not something you would have found Rafa Benitez saying when he was in charge.

Paraguay are playing Jordan today and the Head Coach says: ‘Almiron, obviously, is the most difficult one because he’s at the other end of the earth so we hope we can get him back on Thursday or Friday. Let’s see what condition he’s in.’

A little bit overly dramatic as Miguel Almiron and his Paraguay teammates are actually only playing in Amman, Jordan. Not exactly ‘the other end of the earth’, it is only a five our flight back to the UK, similar to coming back on holiday from the likes of Turkey or Cyprus.

Steve Bruce talking to The Chronicle:

“The major ones [injuries] we’re talking about – Dwight [Gayle], Andy Carroll and Saint-Maximin – they are a big three to get fit.

“I can’t see any of them being available for this weekend against Liverpool but two of them are progressing.

“Andy, we’ll have to still be patient. However, for the first time today, he joined in with the group to a degree. He only took part in half of the session, non contact, but it’s good to see him out kicking a ball again. I always knew that it would be towards the end of this month and halfway through the next month really.

“Dwight’s a big disappointment for me because I have now been here for seven, eight weeks but this injury has not got any better – which is a big concern to all of us.

“Of course, Saint-Maximin is now doing his rehabilitation work. He’s out on the grass. I think we have got to build his fitness levels before we treat his hamstring so there is a bit of a conundrum with him at the moment because he hasn’t really done any pre-season. Because of the knock backs he’s had and the injuries, we haven’t been able to get him up to speed to the level I think he requires.

“Matt Ritchie being Matt Ritchie is surprising us all. When I looked over today, he was running. He’s back on the training ground running in straight lines.

“I think that’s better news. With Matt, the good thing is it’s an impact injury. If there’s anything that an injury picks up on is impact. We know what it is.

“If it’s muscles, it’s always a bit of a problem and ligaments and things like that but he’s out on the grass and the progress he’s made in two weeks is quite remarkable. I think it could be good news for all of us.

“He doesn’t look as if he’ll be eight weeks I wouldn’t think. The way he is at the minute – we don’t put timescales on these things – but closer to four or five weeks might be better.

“I haven’t really seen the internationals. I think it was vitally important Fabian Schar, for example, had a couple of days off. He’s had two games and probably trained in between them games so we’ll see him tomorrow [Wednesday] and that goes for the rest of the internationals. They’re back in tomorrow.

“Almiron, obviously, is the most difficult one because he’s at the other end of the earth so we hope we can get him back on Thursday or Friday. Let’s see what condition he’s in.”

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