Newcastle handed huge injury boost as star tipped to return to action before World Cup break

Newcastle United have seemingly been handed a huge boost by midfielder Jonjo Shelvey’s return to the training pitch.

The 30-year-old has not featured for Eddie Howe’s men in the early stages of the new campaign due to a major hamstring problem suffered in pre-season.

But despite that, he was still named in the club’s 25-man Premier League squad for the first half the season.

And Howe revealed recently that Shelvey is now ‘out on the grass, running and looking good.’

With the midfielder back on the training pitch, medical expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site, claims Shelvey could return before the mid-season break for the Qatar World Cup.

“The initial timeline suggested that we could be looking at about 12 weeks,” Dinnery told Football Insider.

“That’s a realistic assumption with this sort of injury. It appears that he might be ahead of schedule, however.

“The initial timeline might have seen him held back until after the World Cup break. But now, the aim is certainly going to be before that break.

“Realistically, even though he is back on the training pitches, it could be another four to six weeks. We know hamstring problems are prone to re-injury.

“You don’t really know how a player will respond to an increased workload until they are in the thick of it. The road to recovery is never straight. There are always bumps along the way.

“We know Howe is a massive, massive fan of Shelvey. You can argue that they are missing someone like that at the moment, someone who can unlock doors with his range of passing.

“If he was to return before the end of November, that would be a massive bonus for Newcastle.”

Injuries hampering Newcastle

Shelvey‘s imminent return will be good news for Magpies boss Howe, who was without chief attackers Allan Saint-Maximin and Callum Wilson in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Bournemouth.

Wilson’s recovery from a hamstring injury is on track. Indeed, the forward should be available for the trip to Fulham that follows the international break.

However, Saint-Maximin’s hamstring issue is continuing to cause concern, with the winger having suffered a setback in his recovery.

As a result, he is already a major doubt for Newcastle‘s trip to Craven Cottage on October 1.

Howe said: “Callum’s doing very well, we’re really pleased with his progress. He was close for today. But I think we made an early decision that it would have been too big a risk.

“So, we hope that with a bit more time, there’s a chance that the next game could be good for him.

“With Allan, it’s slightly different. He’s had a very minor setback with the physios, so whether or not he’ll be fit after the international break is slightly unclear.

“It’s certainly not long term, but it’s not clear whether he’ll be fit for our next game yet.”

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