Newcastle United Set to Be Without Yoane Wissa for Brentford Clash as Injury Recovery Continues
Yoane Wissa is still waiting to make his debut for Newcastle United following his summer move from Brentford, with the forward expected to miss this weekend’s trip to his former club.
The 29-year-old joined the Magpies in a £55 million transfer during the summer but has been sidelined since sustaining a knee injury while representing DR Congo in a September World Cup qualifier. Although there was initial optimism that he might return in time to face Brentford, Wissa’s absence from DR Congo’s latest squad for their World Cup play-off against Cameroon suggests his comeback is still some way off.
Manager Eddie Howe had previously indicated that Wissa could be back before the November international break but has since taken a more cautious stance.
“It’s definitely not West Ham,” Howe said before last weekend’s match at the London Stadium. “If you look at Yoane’s situation, he’ll almost need a pre-season. Our pre-season programme lasts about six weeks for a reason — to build players up properly so they’re ready to perform.”
The Newcastle boss confirmed that Wissa has been training individually on the grass but isn’t yet ready to rejoin the main group.
“He’s working very hard and getting the fitness work he needs,” Howe added. “He’s not close to training with the group at the moment — not because of injury, but because we’re focused on building his robustness.
I’m not trying to be evasive; I just don’t know exactly when he’ll be back. It could take around six weeks for him to reach his best level once he’s fully fit.”
Howe is expected to provide a further update on Wissa’s condition when he speaks to the media ahead of Newcastle’s Premier League trip to Brentford this weekend.
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