Allan Saint-Maximin Newcastle United injury update gives first look at training ground upgrade

The French winger has missed Newcastle’s last four Premier League matches and will sit out Sunday’s match against Southampton at St James’ Park (2pm kick-off). And on Thursday, Allan Saint-Maximin’s sports physiotherapist Alexandre Baccili posted images of the player working in the new hydrotherapy pools at the Newcastle training ground.

The photos were accompanied by the caption: “#ActiveRecoveryDay, #BackSoon."

Speaking after the 4-1 win at Everton, United head coach Eddie Howe provided an update on Saint-Maximin’s fitness.

“He won’t be available for Sunday,” Howe said. “Maybe the game after that [Arsenal], but there’s no guarantee at this moment. I certainly hope he’ll be fit before the end of the season, but, with hamstring injuries, there’s always that element of doubt.

“He’s not had a setback, he just needs to build his fitness levels up, and make sure he’s fully fit before he comes back.”

Behind the scenes, significant progress has been made developing the training ground since the start of the season. An improved dining area, upgraded training rooms, hydrotherapy pools, cryotherapy, a new players’ lounge, medical treatment rooms and new offices are all in place with further plans recently submitted to improve the club’s Benton training base.

“The whole area in the building is better,” Howe said. Out of the building is better, and it’s still not finished yet. Really exciting times for us all when we’re here so long."

The long-term plan for Newcastle's owners is to eventually relocate the club’s training ground to a new state-of-the-art site.