Yoane Wissa is nearing a return for Newcastle United, but The Athletic’s Chris Waugh reports that the club is taking a cautious approach given his lack of preparation time and recent injury.
In response
to a fan question in his Tuesday mailbag, Waugh wrote that “Wissa is due to return over the next two to three weeks, though the exact date is dependent upon how his body responds to the load on it increasing.”
Waugh added that the forward “could theoretically feature in any of the fixtures against West Ham, Athletic Club or Brentford… in early November,” but that Newcastle may prefer to wait until after the international break before reintroducing him.
Head coach Eddie Howe said on Tuesday that Wissa will require a “full pre-season within an ongoing campaign,” citing his disrupted summer with Brentford and his two months out with a knee injury.
Waugh explained that this process “will require around six weeks, essentially taking Wissa up to the Africa Cup of Nations,” where his participation with DR Congo remains uncertain.
The 29-year-old has yet to train fully with his new teammates since joining Newcastle in September, meaning he still needs to adapt to Howe’s tactical system.
The plan, according to Waugh, is for Wissa to “share the responsibility of leading the line” with Nick Woltemade, allowing the manager to rotate options.
Waugh added that Howe could also field both players together “either as a front two or with Woltemade as a second striker,” but does not expect a major change to the club’s 4–3–3 structure.
Woltemade’s strong form, Waugh noted, should help ease Wissa’s transition while creating the kind of internal competition Howe has wanted following the departure of Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson and the lack of depth up front.
