Matt Targett addresses hilarious rumour he was left behind at Newcastle’s pre-season tour in seven-word Instagram post

Matt Targett has returned to Newcastle training after a viral social media post claimed he was accidentally left on their Asian tour.

The defender had been part of the travelling party for the club’s pre-season trip to Singapore and South Korea.

Eddie Howe’s side faced Arsenal and Tottenham either side of a clash against a K-League XI last week.

Targett appeared in two of those matches as the squad stepped up their preparations for the upcoming campaign.

However, after the Newcastle players returned to England, a bizarre post claimed he had been left behind.

An X post from a parody account jokingly reported Targett was accidentally left in South Korea.

The claim quickly went viral on the social media platform as it amassed 5.9million views and over 50,000 likes.

What happened to Matt Targett?

Targett has now addressed the situation with a light-hearted response on his Instagram story.

The 29-year-old re-shared a series of snaps from Newcastle’s return to training in the north east.

Alongside the pictures of himself in action, he wrote: “Made it back in time for training,” followed by a laugh and sweat emoji.

Howe’s players are back in training as they prepare for their final two pre-season friendlies.

Newcastle host Spanish sides Espanyol and Atletico Madrid in back-to-back matches at St. James’ Park on Friday and Saturday.

They will then begin their Premier League campaign away to Aston Villa on Saturday August 16.

Targett is set to enter his fourth full season with the Toon Army this term.

Having initially joined on loan from Villa in January 2022, he completed a permanent switch to Tyneside at the end of the campaign.

Across both his loan and permanent spells, Targett has made 47 appearances for the club across all competitions.

However, he featured just five times overall last term, with only two of those outings coming in the Premier League.

It is unclear whether he will remain at Newcastle beyond the end of the current transfer window.

Targett had been tipped as a player the club would look to move on during the summer at the end of the previous campaign.

However, an exit would currently leave Howe short of senior options at left-back.

First-choice Lewis Hall’s only support would be 21-year-old Alex Murphy unless Targett was replaced.

The Irish youth international has played just 11 minutes of first-team football for the club.