Newcastle United could receive a timely boost ahead of Friday’s trip to Manchester United, with Eddie Howe confirming several injured players are edging closer to returns.
Goalkeeper Nick Pope has a “chance”
of featuring after missing the past month with a groin issue. Aaron Ramsdale has deputised during his absence, but Howe said Pope may return to training in the coming days.
“There’s a chance,” Howe said. “He hasn’t trained yet, we hope he might (on Tuesday). Let’s see how he does.”
Defender Tino Livramento will miss the matches around Christmas time but is not facing a season-ending injury after being forced off with a knee problem during the Carabao Cup win over Fulham. Howe stressed caution before setting a timetable.
“We don’t actually [have a timescale],” Howe said. “It’s a difficult one because there’s quite a bit of information on Tino. We’re hoping to get full clarification. We’re hoping it’s not serious at all and he can resume training quite quickly, but before we do that, we want to make sure that’s right.”
Centre-back Sven Botman is also nearing a comeback following a back complaint and could return either against Manchester United, Burnley next week, or early in the new year.
“Sven would be in the category of a group of players doing well,” Howe said. “We hope to get him back pretty soon. I’m not sure when yet, he hasn’t trained with the group yet, but he’s not too far away.”
Midfielder Joelinton, absent since the draw at Bayer Leverkusen, remains a possibility depending on his training response, while Lewis Hall came through last weekend without issue after a minor hamstring problem.
“I believe Lewis came through OK,” Howe said. “We’re still very aware that he’s had a little reaction to his hamstring… Joelinton is getting closer now to be able to participate. We’ll see how he trains today and how he looks.”
Newcastle faces Man Utd on Friday, with their final match of the 2025 calendar year scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 30, against Burnley.
