Newcastle United may already be safe from relegation but they are still set to receive another huge boost before the end of the season as Kieran Trippier is expected to make a return from injury.
The right back, signed from Atletico Madrid in January for £12 million, had an instant impact by helping to keep two clean sheets and scoring two goals in his four Premier League games for the club, before fracturing his metatarsal back in February.
It was initially feared that Trippier may not feature for the Magpies again this season, but Eddie Howe has revealed that the defender is back in training and has issued a positive update ahead of this weekend’s trip to Manchester City.
Following Newcastle ’s 1-0 defeat to Liverpool on Saturday, Howe said: “We’ll see how his training week progresses. Yes, that training session was yesterday (Friday), so he was never going to be in contention to play (against Liverpool). We’ll see how he progresses during the week.”
Trippier had fractured the fifth metatarsal in his left foot during the 1-0 victory over Aston Villa on February 13, in which he scored the only goal of the game with an expertly taken free-kick, and it came as a huge blow for the Magpies in their bid to beat the drop.
Previous to that win over Villa, the 31-year-old had played the full 90 minutes in the 1-1 draw against Watford, the 1-0 victory at Leeds United, and the 3-1 victory over Everton, where he scored his first goal for the club from another free-kick.
Are Newcastle more likely to cause an upset at Man City with Kieran Trippier in their side? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
The England international certainly had an instant impact on Tyneside and his experience and quality shone through in a Newcastle defence that had been left in tatters ahead of the January transfer window. When he picked up his injury, many feared the worst.
However, the Magpies have lost just four of their 12 games since, and have risen up into the top half of the Premier League to all but confirm their status for yet another season. There is a huge 11 point gap between themselves and the bottom three with just three games to go.
It is also important to note that Emil Krafth deserves recognition for filling in for Tripper at right back and playing a big part in that run. The Swedish international has started 10 of those 12 fixtures, helping to keep four clean sheets, with Newcastle losing just twice when he has played.
As good as Krafth may have been, it can be fully expected that whenever Trippier is fit enough to start from the off, he will regain his place in the starting lineup as the Magpies look to end the season as strong as they can and continue their rise up the table.
The former Burnley and Tottenham Hotspur man has even teased that he could be set to return very soon, believed to be for the visit to Manchester City on Sunday, following an Instagram post that included a photograph of himself with the caption: “Loading... @nufc.”
Trippier’s return will be a most welcome one and the first signing of Newcastle’s new era will be desperate to get back into action and show the fans what they’ve been missing but, thankfully, Newcastle have still managed to secure their survival without him.
