Newcastle United star ruled out of Southampton game amid training ground update

Eddie Howe has ruled Allan Saint-Maximin out of Newcastle United’s Premier League clash against Southampton on Sunday afternoon (kick-off 2pm).

As first reported by NewcastleWorld, the Frenchman was facing an extended spell on the sidelines after sustaining a hamstring issue in the 5-1 win over West Ham United on April 5.

Howe initially hoped to have Saint-Maximin back within a couple of weeks, however his absence now stretches into a fourth week. He spent a fortnight in France working on his recovery before returning to the club’s Benton training ground on Monday.

The 25-year-old, who shared an image on Instagram of him using the hydrotherapy pool yesterday, won’t feature this weekend having already missed games against Brentford, Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur and Everton.

“No, Maxi won’t be fit,” Howe confirmed after the 4-1 win at Goodison Park. “He won’t be available for Sunday, maybe the game after. But no guarantee at this moment. I certainly hope he’ll be fit before the end of the season.

“With hamstring injuries, there’s always that element of doubt. He’s not had a setback, he just needs to build his fitness levels and make sure he’s fully fit before he comes back.”

Prior to his injury, Saint-Maximin had started four consecutive games - his best run in the starting XI since August - and claimed back-to-back assists in victories over Manchester United and West Ham.

It has, however, largely been a frustrating campaign for the player, with an early season hamstring issue restricting him to 11 Premier League starts.

Opening up on his injury frustrations in December, Saint-Maximin told reporters in Saudi Arabia: “It was a very, very hard time for me mentally. I have my job in Newcastle but I always had in my mind the World Cup with the French team as well.

“When you start like this and after you get the injury, and you try everything to be able to come back but you know if you come back too early you can pick up a bigger injury.

“I started very well, I did a great game against Manchester City - it was one of the best games I’ve played for Newcastle. And just after that, we were losing 1-0 against Wolves and I scored a nice goal to get a draw for the team. It was a very good and important moment for me but after, it was a bad moment because I felt pain in my hamstring.

“It was a very difficult time for me because always, when you see the team play well, you want to be able to help them. I’m the type of player that when I get this type of injury, there is a lot of work to do. If I come back and do any sprint, anything can happen.”

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