Newcastle United training ground injury update rules striker out v Nottingham Forest
Yoane Wissa injury: Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe provided the latest injury news ahead of Sunday’s Premier League clash against Nottingham Forest.
Newcastle United striker Yoane Wissa is closing in on a return from injury and his first club appearance since his £55million transfer from Brentford.
Days after joining The Magpies, Wissa joined up with the DR Congo national team and scored two goals in as many games against South Sudan and Senegal but suffered a knee injury against the latter that has ruled him out of action ever since.
Wissa’s last Premier League appearance came for Brentford back in May. His international appearance for DR Congo have been his only taste of match action since as he didn’t feature in any pre-season or early 2025/26 season matches prior to joining Newcastle on deadline day.
Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe has been reasonably consistent with a potential return date for Wissa, stating the trip to Brighton & Hove Albion on October 18 as a target for the 29-year-old.
In Wissa’s absence, Newcastle record signing Nick Woltemade has stepped up and provided three goals in four starts. The German opened the scoring in The Magpies’ 4-0 Champions League away win against Union Saint-Gilloise on Wednesday evening in what was his full debut in the competition.
On Sunday, Newcastle host Nottingham Forest at St James’ Park as they look to bounce back from last Sunday’s stoppage-time defeat to Arsenal in the Premier League. Howe’s side have won one of their opening six league matches this season but did the double over Forest last season in two highly entertaining matches.
The previous meeting between the sides finished 4-3 to Newcastle back in February, while they also won the reverse fixture at the City Ground 3-1 last November.
Wissa scored for Brentford in a 2-0 win at Nottingham Forest back in May but won’t make Newcastle’s match this time around.
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Eddie Howe provides Yoane Wissa injury latest
When asked for an update on Wissa following Newcastle’s Champions League win in Belgium, Howe said: “Yeah, I think we're still on track for where we were, which is after this international break coming up.
“He hasn't trained on the grass yet, so we haven't seen him as part of any team training. So, at the moment, that's the schedule, but we'll wait and see.”
Wissa has been at the training ground and has attended matches at St James’ Park, but is still yet to train with his teammates. And having not played any club football since May, Wissa may have to be patient to get his opportunity while Woltemade continues to impress up front.
But the busy fixture schedule after the October international break could see Howe rotate his side.
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Yoane Wissa on the Champions League
After the trip to Brighton, Newcastle host Benfica in the Champions League in a match that could see Wissa make his home debut and Champions League debut.
After signing for The Magpies, Wissa said: “It was a big part in moving here but I said to my family if I wanted to play Champions League football, I would go elsewhere but I wanted to stay in England.
“Newcastle came along with this project and I was thinking, even without the Champions League, I'd love to be a Newcastle player and play at St. James Park. I'm looking forward to making my debut.