Newcastle United star ‘very close’ to injury return - could be back for Carabao Cup final v Man United

Matt Targett is “very close” to a return to Newcastle United training - according to head coach Eddie Howe.

The left-back hasn’t been available to Howe for the last nine games in all competitions after an existing heel injury became too painful to manage.

Targett has resumed some light individual training and is on course to link up with his teammates in the coming weeks, which could see the 27-year-old return in time for the Carabao Cup final against Manchester United on Sunday, February 26.

“He’s close to training I think, we haven’t seen him yet,” said Howe, speaking ahead of Saturday’s Premier League trip to Bournemouth. “He’s worked hard during his rehabilitation with the physios.

“He’s getting very close to returning to us.”

It’s easy to forget the role Targett played in Newcastle’s successful battle against Premier League relegation last season, where his performances convinced Howe to sign the player on a permanent basis from Aston Villa.

Small periods out with knocks and illness has held the former Southampton academy graduate back this campaign, while Dan Burn has stepped up in his absence.

“Probably at the start I saw him [Dan Burn] as a centre-back out of position,” said Howe. I think Matt got ill in the lead-up to Fulham so we played Dan there, won the game and kept the same team the next week.

“Now, I don’t look at him like that. I look at him as a left-back. He’s played there for so long that we’ve trained him in that position. Initially, we played him there with a view of bringing him back inside, so he was training as a centre-half but playing as a left-back.

“But very quickly we realised we need to train him in this position if he’s going to play there again. I have to say he’s got better and better.”