Huge injury boost for Newcastle United as Martin Dubravka returns to training

Steve Bruce received a very welcome injury boost today as Martin Dubravka returned to training.

Dubravka missed the whole of pre-season as well as the six games Newcastle have played so far this season after recovering from a foot-injury which hampered him throughout last season and in the European Championship’s with Slovakia this summer.

Speaking in July, Dubravka revealed: "I have been feeling pain in my leg since last December.

“This was probably due to the fact that last year I had a torn tendon, so I loaded the foot differently.

"I was constantly feeling uncomfortable in my football. The pain escalated, getting more and more intense. In the end, it turned out to be a fatigue fracture, and surgery was necessary.”

In the summer, it was unknown how bad Dubravka’s injury would be with Bruce saying in July:

"Well, we'll not know the extent of the operation with Dubravka (until later today).

"He picked up something similar last pre-season, running in the woods. He complained of it during the Championships, so we'll not know until the next 24 to 48 hours, and then we'll see how long he's out and what we need to do.”

Following this update, very little else was known about Dubravka’s injury, however, last week, Bruce dropped a small hint:

“He’s coming along nicely. Thankfully, the wound that was badly infected has gone. He’s hoping he’ll be back on the grass next week, so that’s a bit of good news.”

Dubravka’s last game for Newcastle came in their 2-0 victory at Craven Cottage at the end of last season.

Since then, Bruce has named both Freddie Woodman and Karl Darlow in his starting line-up as he tries to solve his goalkeeping selection crisis.

Whilst Dubravka’s return won’t alleviate his selection headache, it’s a positive that once he is match fit, Bruce will have three ‘keepers with Premier League experience to choose from.

Dubravka has been one of Newcastle’s most consistent performers since joining in January 2018 and it will be a huge relief to all supporters to see him back in training.

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