Newcastle United dealt another blow with Eddie Howe favourite injured in training

Matt Ritchie has joined Newcastle United’s growing injury list after sustaining a calf issue in training.

In a week where Bruno Guimaraes, Alexander Isak and Chris Wood were injured on international duty, Ritchie is also a doubt for the clash at Fulham on Saturday.

The former Scotland international, like several of his teammates, remained on Tyneside and reported as normal to the club’s Benton training ground after some brief time off following the Bournemouth draw, while others linked up with their respective nations.

And as per the Daily Mail, the 33-year-old injured his calf last week just as news of Guimaraes and Isak’s knocks began to filter through.

Magpies head coach Eddie Howe has always spoken very highly of Ritchie and his leadership, with the pair first working together at Bournemouth.

“He’s a player that I trust, I admire, I really like and he’s got a big part to play on and off the pitch because he is a really big voice in the dressing room,” Howe said last season.

Newcastle hope to have Guimaraes fit for the visit to Craven Cottage this weekend but expect Isak to miss out with a thigh problem.

In Isak’s absence, Callum Wilson is set to return to the starting XI after recovering from a hamstring injury that kept him out of games against Wolves, Liverpool, Crystal Palace and Bournemouth.

Wilson, at present, is United’s only fit recognised striker as Wood undergoes a scan on a rib injury.

Meanwhile, the same newspaper reports that Allan Saint-Maximin has a chance of making the bench in West London. The Frenchman has missed the last three Premier League fixtures.

Elliot Anderson is also in line to return to the matchday squad after missing the Bournemouth draw with a “minor niggle”.

Jonjo Shelvey is making good progress and could return before the World Cup break. Karl Darlow and Emil Krafth remain longer-term absentees.