Newcastle United defender, Kieran Trippier had a successful surgery to treat his broken metatarsal and has started making efforts to recover fully before the end of the season according to the club’s coach, Eddie Howe.
Recall that Newcastle United had to pay Atlético Madrid the sum of €15 million to bring the 31-year-old English defender to the club on January 7, 2022. The relegation-threatened side offered the England international a contract that will see him remain at the club until June 30, 2024.
Since Kieran Trippier joined the club, he has brought a breath of fresh air to the side, especially the club’s defense. For instance, under his watch, Newcastle United that have been enjoying strings of draws and defeats, have enjoyed a draw and three wins in the last four games.
Trippier who has played 5 games in all competitions including four Premier League games, scored two goals for Newcastle United in the club’s last two games including a goal via a free-kick against Aston Villa on February 13.
The free-kick goal was the lone goal that gave Newcastle United a 1-0 win over Aston Villa which further established Newcastle on the 17th spot on the league table with 21 points in 23 games. Currently, Newcastle United are enjoying four points above the relegation zone.
Unfortunately for Newcastle United, Trippier was helped out of the pitch before the end of the game against Villa. It was later confirmed that he broke some bones on his foot during the game.
Hence, the club will go into the Premier League game against in-form West Ham United on Saturday at 13:30 without Trippier in the defense.
During the pre-match press conference earlier today, February 18, coach Eddie Howe admitted that his team would miss the contribution and leadership of the English defender in Saturday’s clash against West Ham.
While noting that he does not know when the defender would be fit to play football again, the coach stressed that there are players that could cover up for the injured Trippier.
The coach said: “He has his operation yesterday and that went well, so that was good news. I don’t know at this moment in time how long he’s going to be out.
“We hope to have him back before the end of the season, but it’s obviously a significant injury, which is a big blow to us because he was performing so well…
“We hope to see him before the end of the season, but in terms of a definitive time, no. We’re going to have to see how his early rehab goes.
“As I said, the operation was a success, but it’s an opportunity now for someone else to step up in his place.
“But sadly, we’re going to miss his leadership skills on the pitch and everything that he was delivering for us. He’s scored two goals in the last two games which have been defining moments for us, but we’re confident we have enough quality in the squad to cover.”
"He had his operation yesterday… that went well" 💪
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) February 18, 2022
Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe provides an injury update on Kieran Trippier ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/P14fZvBOrf
Aside from Trippier, coach Howe has a couple of other injury worries which could affect his planning for the game against West Ham United.
For instance, the club’s stars like Javier Manquillo, Federico Fernandez, Isaac Hayden, Matt Ritchie, and Callum Wilson are still battling to recover from different degrees of injuries.
Based on the injuries woes of the club, Howe might want to settle for a 3-5-2 formation against coach David Moyes’s side on Saturday which could see Chris Wood partners with Allan Saint-Maximin upfront.
