Newcastle United new injury blow as attacker ruled out v Wolves - Will Osula return 'imminent'

Newcastle United winger Jacob Murphy is set for a period of rest as he manages a hamstring issue.

The 30-year-old was left out of the matchday squad for last Saturday’s FA Cup third round penalty shootout win against AFC Bournemouth as a precaution after complaining about his hamstring.

Murphy was recalled to the starting line-up for the Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg tie at home to Manchester City on Tuesday evening but was forced off at the end of the first half as United went on to lose 2-0.

The former Norwich City man had another scan this week, which again showed no damage, but the Magpies’ medical team feel the best course of action is to give the player a period to rest.

Newcastle United issue Jacob Murphy injury update

Murphy will miss Sunday’s Premier League trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers, with Howe unsure on his return date as Newcastle round off the month with other matches against PSV Eindhoven, Aston Villa, Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool.

Howe explained: “Jacob's had another scan and again nothing showing, so it's a strange one. But of course you have to go on the symptoms and how the player feels, which we'll always have regular communication with all of our players.

“So I'm sure that'll mean probably a period where Jacob has to come out, for how long I don't know at this moment in time. But we're very thankful that it's not a serious problem, hopefully one we can overcome very quickly.”

Will Osula close to returning for Newcastle United

Will Osula could take Murphy’s place in the matchday squad as he closes in on a return from an ankle injury.

Osula had been managing the issue before succumbing to the injury in early November. The 22-year-old was originally named in the squad to face Athletic Club in the Champions League but withdrew around 45 minutes before kick-off.

Three months on and Howe says the striker is due to return to training “imminently”, which, if he trains before Sunday, could see him named on the bench for the visit to Wolves.

Howe added: “With Will, Will's situation was different. But yes, he's had a length of time out, he's had to start from zero where he had a period of rest, and now we're building him back up. But he's very close to hopefully returning to training and then being ready to play.

“Will hopefully will be training imminently, and then we'll of course have to make a decision on when we can involve him in the matchday squad.”

Will Osula set to stay at Newcastle United

Heading into the January window, there were strong suggestions Osula could leave Newcastle after he came close to joining German side Eintracht Frankfurt on summer deadline day.

But Howe says the club are only prepared to let Osula go if there is an option to bring him back to St James’ Park in the future.

Speaking earlier this month, Howe said: “No, there's no expectation of me thinking Will will leave. I think the only way that we would consider that would be for his development and growth in terms of benefiting his career to playbut always with a view to him coming back to us.

“He's injured at the moment .I think the main priority for Will is just to focus on getting fit. I don't think he's close, but I think he's improving. So hopefully we'll see him towards the end of the month.

“Big for us to get him back fit. Big for him because I know he's been hugely frustrated by this injury when he had a lot of opportunities to play.

“Prior to his injury, I thought he was in a really good place and doing well. As with every player, we make a decision when we need to.”

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