00:00Newcastle United Media Centre where we've been speaking to Eddie Howe ahead of Newcastle United's trip to Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League on Saturday. Return to Premier League action after the international break. Good to see Newcastle back as they look to pick up first ever Premier League win at Brighton. It's not a happy hunting ground for Newcastle historically.
00:25A couple of draws there, a couple of very poor defeats as well but Newcastle looking to pick up not only the first win at Brighton in the Premier League but also back-to-back wins for the first time this season but they will have to do it without some key players.
00:43Lewis Hall of course remains out. There was an update from Eddie Howe on that as well as Tino Liveramento, Johan Wisser as well.
00:52And positive news regarding Jacob Ramsey following the international break.
00:59Jacob Ramsey is a player expected to be back. He's been out for seven weeks with an ankle injury but has trained during the international break.
01:08He actually trained ahead of Nottingham Forest and was in contention to return for that game now.
01:14Getting back to full fitness, could he even start? Because Eddie Howe said there was a little bit of concern over Joe Linton who suffered a groin issue while away with Brazil.
01:25But Eddie Howe did say that Joe Linton said he's fine and will be expected to travel.
01:31But will he be expected to start? There's food for thought for Eddie Howe certainly there regarding Jacob Ramsey and Joe Linton.
01:39Big questions on Lewis Hall who obviously missed the Nottingham Forest game due to a hamstring injury.
01:46Eddie Howe said positive news. He's had two scans during the break.
01:50The first scan was sort of looking at a six to eight week recovery period from the initial injury which was picked up against Union Saint-Giloise on the 1st of October.
02:02So six to eight weeks from there, you're sort of looking, straddling either side of the November international break.
02:07But Eddie Howe said a second scan revealed it's probably looking more likely you'll be back before the November international break.
02:15Which is positive news regarding Lewis Hall because at the moment Newcastle aren't exactly having a lot of full-back options at the moment.
02:25Tino Livermento out till the back end of November with a knee issue and then you're playing Dan Byrne somewhat out of position at left-back at the moment.
02:35And that's going to be the case for certainly the next few games.
02:38And then Lewis Hall hasn't played a lot of football this year in general.
02:42He's had some bad injuries, particularly the foot injury that kept him out for about five months and now got back to full fitness and then suffered the hamstring injury.
02:51So he'll have to be managed.
02:53You can't expect him to come straight back into the team and just play week in, week out.
02:57So the sooner both Lewis Hall and Tino Livermento get back, the better.
03:04Big one though on Johan Wester.
03:06That was a question I asked Eddie Howe about.
03:08Just what is the actual injury because knee injuries, I mean it can be anything from a bruised knee to an ACL, which is anything from a couple of weeks out to over a year out.
03:18So important to get a bit of clarity on that.
03:21And Eddie Howe did confirm to me that it was a posterior cruciate ligament injury, which doesn't sound great, but much better than an ACL, an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
03:33So it doesn't require surgery and you're looking still at that sort of eight week time frame for Johan Wester.
03:40So again, he could be back before the November international break as well.
03:44But I think the Johan Wester situation is one that's going to rumble on because of his international duty with DR Congo, where he initially picked up that knee injury.
03:54You're sort of looking at the November World Cup playoffs, even really important games or game at least against Cameroon and then potentially Gabon or Nigeria as well for a place in the World Cup.
04:08And then a month later, you had AFCON in Morocco as well.
04:12So a decision is going to be made or has to be made over Johan Wester, who will be keen to make an impact at Newcastle, hasn't been able to do so so far due to injury, but also keen to represent his country at an important tournament in AFCON.
04:30So Eddie Howe was asked, does he want Johan Wester to go to AFCON?
04:33That was a direct question.
04:34Eddie Howe wouldn't get drawn into it.
04:36He said it wouldn't be fair on the player.
04:37Obviously, as Newcastle manager, his priority is Newcastle United.
04:44If Eddie Howe absolutely had to answer that question, he'd probably go, yeah, in the best interest of Newcastle United, you want all your best players to stay at the club.
04:55But you also have to look at a player's interest and international prestige and representing your country as well.
05:02So it's a difficult situation for Newcastle, difficult situation for Johan Wester as well.
05:06But the sooner he's back, the better.
05:09It's just managing that injury now, which was another question I asked Eddie Howe.
05:14And he said, look, he's back on the grass.
05:15He's been managed well.
05:17There's no reason why he can't make a return to full fitness before the November international break.
05:23It's just a case of waiting insane.
05:24For now, in terms of injury boost, it's a case of Jacob Ramsey back for Brighton.
05:32And everyone else, it looks like, at least a few more weeks still before we see them back in action.
05:37And hopefully, no more injury blows to speak of in the coming weeks.
05:41Because it's a busy period coming up for Newcastle United.
05:44And you can catch all the fallout from Eddie Howe's press conference there in the Newcastle United media centre.
05:49And all the build-up to the trip to Brighton.
05:52And I'll be heading down to Brighton tomorrow morning.
05:54Nice long journey.
05:56And covering the game for the Shields Gazette.
05:58So, I've been Dom Sker.
05:59Check out ShieldsGazette.com for all your latest Newcastle United content.
06:03And thanks for watching.
Comments