Newcastle’s summer from hell has continued as Joe Willock will miss the club’s first Premier League game – but his injury is not as bad as first feared.
The English talent was involved in a late collision in a pre-season friendly against a K-League XI in South Korea on Wednesday and needed a stretcher to leave the pitch.
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He went to contest a 50/50 challenge in the final minutes and was signalling to the bench for help before even hitting the ground.
He covered his face to hide his pain as he clutched his ankle before medics stretchered him off.
Giving an update post-match, manager Eddie Howe said: “I don’t have a major update yet, but it didn’t look great on the pitch.
“But at this moment, it doesn’t look like a major, major injury. And fingers crossed it’s not, because Joe has suffered enough. Hopefully he’s OK.”
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Howe has since issued a more definitive update and revealed Willock may not be back on the pitch until September.
Howe said in Seoul: “Joe Willock we initially feared that he could have injured part of his Achilles but that wasn’t the case. It looks like he has problems with a muscle in the calf.
“We feel the injury is not as bad as first feared which is good news for Joe. It is going to keep him out for a number of weeks, how many we are not sure, early diagnosis is looking four to six.
“Which is much better than we initially thought.”
Willock made 41 appearances for Newcastle last season and has become a key figure since his move from Arsenal in 2021.
To make matters worse, his injury came during a 1-0 defeat, the Magpies’ third of pre-season after losing 3-2 to Arsenal and 4-0 to Celtic.
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Bad on and off the pitch for Newcastle
Newcastle won their first domestic trophy in 70 years with the Carabao Cup last season and also booked Champions League football with a fifth-place Premier League finish.
Yet despite the extra games a return to Europe will bring, they’ve so far just brought in Anthony Elanga from Nottingham Forest for £55million.
On top of that, star striker Alexander Isak is wanted by Liverpool, and hasn’t attended pre-season with manager Howe, recently admitting there’s ‘no chance’ he’ll return for their friendly fixtures.
The Reds made a huge £110m offer for the Swedish striker on Friday morning, but it was turned down by Newcastle.
“I think from my situation, I am very much removed from everything that is happening back home,” Howe said, as reported by The Athletic.
“I was made aware there was a bid yesterday. That bid was turned down before I heard about it.
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“There are people back in England dealing with the situation.
“I really don’t know what is going to happen next, but from our perspective, we still support Alex in every way, and my wish is still that we see him in a Newcastle shirt again.”
Newcastle will face Tottenham in their next pre-season friendly on Sunday.
Their first Premier League match of the season is a trip to Aston Villa on August 16.
