Newcastle United entered the international break in dire need of time for its injured players to recover after Matthias Jaissle was forced to navigate the 2-1 victory over Hull City without nine senior players.
The three-week pause seems to have provided a nice opportunity for several of those injured members of the squad to move closer to returning.
The Athletic’s Chris Waugh reported earlier this week that Joelinton and Nico Gonzalez both took part in a portion of Newcastle training open to reporters,
an encouraging indication that they should be available for the Premier League trip to Coventry City on Monday, Oct. 12.
Joelinton has yet to play this season because of injury, meaning Jaissle has been without his newly appointed vice-captain throughout the opening weeks of his Newcastle tenure.
Gonzalez, meanwhile, missed the Hull victory after entering concussion protocol. His participation in training suggests the summer signing is progressing toward clearance before Newcastle returns to competitive action.
Jaissle allowed reporters to watch the opening 10 to 15 minutes of the session, per Waugh. Harvey Barnes, Jacob Murphy, Joe Willock, Sven Botman, Nick Pope and Mark Gillespie were among the other senior non-internationals involved, alongside several under-21 players.
Waugh reported that Dan Burn, Amar Dedic, Tino Livramento, William Osula, Jacob Ramsey and Anthony Elanga were not involved in the open portion of the session, though all of them still have time to regain their fitness before the Coventry game.
Fabian Schar was another absentee from the session, although no explanation for his absence was provided.
How big a difference would having Joelinton and Gonzalez back make against Coventry? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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