It’s a nervy time for every team in the race for Champions League football, as the fitness and availability of their players could be the difference between qualification and just missing out.
With Aston Villa suffering a few untimely injuries heading into the final three games and Murillo taken off prematurely for Nottingham Forest earlier in the week, a fully fit and fresh Mags side could capitalise.
And in a , new footage is showing positive signs for us in regards to our squad availability for the rest of the run-in.
Injury fears eased via Sky Sports clip
Sky Sports’ North East reporter Keith Downie has shared footage from the Newcastle United training ground as our Under 8s met the first-team squad during Eddie Howe’s Thursday morning session.
Amongst the players featured were Dan Burn, Bruno Guimaraes, Jacob Murphy and the rest of senior squad, which showed Jamaal Lascelles back with the group.
But the biggest takeaway for us was the presence of Fabian Schar hidden amongst the crowd, showing the Swiss centre-back is in training and appears fine for Sunday’s vital clash with Chelsea after limping off last weekend.
Having been taken off prematurely, alongside Kieran Trippier (cramp), during our recent draw with Brighton, Eddie Howe hinted that Schar would be subject to fitness checks this week.
Speaking after the game, Howe said: “I’m not 100% sure with Faby. He was limping, I don’t know whether that’s cramp or a muscle issue, so I’d need to check.”
But thankfully this footage is the clearest indicator yet that the defender looks to have passed this week’s fitness checks and should be available for the crunch clash against Chelsea this weekend.
Should Schar have been unavailable for Sunday afternoon, it’s likely we would have seen one of Emil Krafth or Sven Botman deputise alongside Dan Burn in the heart of the defence.
Botman has slowly been eased back into things in the last fortnight, having made cameo substitute appearances against both Ipswich and Brighton.
The Dutchman excelled in his earlier appearances this season, in particular as part of a back three against Arsenal during the Carabao Cup semi-final.
Clearly a big man for the big occasion, Howe faces a minor selection headache over if he wants to give Botman the opportunity to shine once again, or perhaps leave Schar to keep his first team place until the end of the season whilst Botman is not 100% fit just yet.
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