Newcastle United hopeful of 'transformative' 20-goal striker signing after St James' Park cameo
Newcastle United forward Yoane Wissa is set to be ruled out for three months with a knee injury.
Yoane Wissa has been out of action since early September after suffering a knee injury while on international duty with DR Congo.
The injury, which came days after his £55million arrival at Newcastle United from Brentford, has prevented Wissa from playing or even training fully with his new teammates.
The Magpies will soon be approaching the midway stage in the season and Wissa is still yet to kick a ball.
But there have been positive signs in recent weeks that the forward could be close to a return despite the delay. Wissa has been training individually in recent weeks and is ‘close’ to joining the group sessions.
The 29-year-old also claimed he would be back ‘soon’ when pushed for an answer when being filmed by William Osula behind the scenes at Darsley Park. But that was over a month ago and Wissa’s return date is still no clearer.
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Yoane Wissa at St James’ Park for Manchester City win
Wissa has been forced to watch Newcastle matches at St James’ Park from the stands due to his injury.
While Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Manchester City was no different, Wissa was involved in the post-game celebrations in the dressing room this time around - suggesting he has integrated into the group despite the isolating nature of his PCL injury.
Providing an update on Wissa’s injury ahead of the Man City match, United head coach Eddie Howe said: “I haven't got a clear, defined return date for you. He's working well, so he's not back training with us yet, but he's close.
“He's working with the sports scientists. He's in that phase, sort of moved past his physios. He's now back with the sports science team, and he's also almost entering a pre-season with them currently.
“He's doing a lot of work. He's looking good, looking better with every session. And as I say, he's close to training with us. But until he gets to there, it's very difficult to give you a date.”
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Following the win, Wissa took to Instagram to post an image from the stands with the caption: “I love you @NUFC.”
The 29-year-old is not expected to be back for Newcastle at least until early December, ruling him out for the upcoming matches against Marseille in the Champions League and the Premier League trip to Everton on Saturday.
Will Yoane Wissa be worth the wait?
Howe recently claimed Wissa’s return to full fitness will be ‘worth the wait’ for Newcastle given the DR Congo international scored 19 Premier League goals for Brentford last season, with only Golden Boot winner Mohamed Salah scoring more non-penalty goals.
When asked if Wissa would be a ‘transformative signing’ for Newcastle once he returns, Howe responded: “Well, we hope so. He's got Premier League experience. His goal record last year was very, very good.
“I think he understands the league and the expectations of the league, which is crucial, and that's a big reason why we signed him, because there would be a very low adaptation period.
“The big adaptation period for him now is his fitness and making sure that he comes back and he's ready to play and ready to execute what we need him to. He's done his part in that.