Steve Bruce issues update on Allan Saint-Maximin at Newcastle United ahead of his return from Covid-19

The Newcastle United winger, sidelined since late November, has been cleared to resume light training after recovering from coronavirus.

Saint-Maximin – who had to quarantine last week following his return from France, where he had been recuperating with his family – has been missed by Newcastle in recent weeks.

And the 23-year-old – who yesterday posted a tweet with the message “I’m back, baby” – is being closely monitored by the club’s medical team.

Speaking ahead of Monday night’s Premier League game against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, head coach Steve Bruce: “This Covid thing’s been hanging around us for more than a month.

"It’s badly affected arguably our best attacking player (Saint-Maximin), which has no helped us. That’s a bit of good news. But he’s been out the best part of seven weeks with it.

“He’s been out seven weeks, so we’ll have to monitor him. The biggest thing we’re finding, even in the elite athletes, is this lethargy. They struggle to train properly. It has been a problem.”

Jamaal Lascelles and Jamaal Lewis could return at the Emirates Stadium, though their defensive colleague Federico Fernandez, also recovering from Covid-19, might not be available.

“We’ll look at people who are OK,” said Bruce. “Jamal Lewis could come back into the frame. The captain, Jamaal Lascelles, he could come back in. We’ll see how he is. We’ve got a problem with Fernandez.”

Meanwhile, winger Ryan Fraser, sent off for two bookable offences in Tuesday night’s defeat to Sheffield United at Bramall Lane, will miss the Arsenal game through suspension.

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