Newcastle United launch internal injury investigation after striker ruled out for a month
Newcastle United injury latest: William Osula has been ruled out for around a month following an injury setback.
Newcastle United forward William Osula has been ruled out of Tuesday night’s Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur at St James’ Park.
Last week, Osula received positive injury scan results on a niggling ankle injury that has been troubling him for the past couple of months. The 22-year-old was initially able to play through the problem before being a late withdrawal from Newcastle’s matchday squad for the Champions League match against Athletic Club.
Osula was named on the bench initially but withdrew from the squad and hasn’t been seen since. Now he’s approaching a month out with no certainty he will be back for the upcoming matches against Burnley or Bayer Leverkusen after the Spurs match.
“Will is, I think, okay,” Howe said last week. “He's been to see a specialist on Monday, to get an update on his ankle.
“He's still feeling a little bit of pain in there, even though sort of all the scans have come back clear."
Despite the positive scan results, the persisting nature of the issue has led Newcastle to investigate the issue internally.
The Gazette has launched a new WhatsApp NUFC channel to bring the latest news, analysis and team & injury updates directly to your phone. Simply click this link to join our NUFC WhatsApp channel.
William Osula injury update
When asked about a potential return date for Osula, Howe said: “No, he certainly won't be involved tomorrow night. We need to have further discussions internally to see quite what's happening with his ankle, because it's not going in a straight line.
“We're not quite happy with how he's feeling, so I'll try and give you some feedback when we get it.”
Football is BACK - subscribe to our Newcastle United newsletter for all the news straight to your inbox
Newcastle United striker boost
Nick Woltemade is Newcastle’s only currently fit and available striker heading into a busy festive fixture schedule.
Although Osula’s recovery has stagnated, £55million summer signing Yoane Wissa has stepped up his recovery this past week.
The 29-year-old featured in an 11v11 training ground match over the weekend and is set to take part in another this week.
Wissa is now back in training after three months out with a knee injury and is closing in on making his Newcastle debut.
“He participated in an 11v11 training game while we were at Everton,” Howe revealed. “I think he'll have another one at some stage this week.
“I've given so many different [Wissa return] dates, I've got no idea. There's been no change, he's working back, he's doing well, everything's positive, but he will be back involved when we think he's able to contribute to the group, and has a minimal chance of re-injury.
“Whenever he comes back, I'm sure from his perspective, and of course from our perspective, that first goal will be important. But I don't want to put too much pressure on him, he's still a little bit away from that, he's got some more work to do, hopefully he comes through that, and then we can see him back on the pitch.”