'Been a big miss': Eddie Howe delighted to have £25m man approaching full fitness after 'frustrating' year

Last season was an injury nightmare for Newcastle United but there was one player who pretty much personified the issue.

Joe Willock picked up a hamstring injury towards the end of the 2022/23 campaign which kept him out of all of pre-season, but just as he was starting to return to fitness he had a problem with his achilles which kept him sidelined.

Willock had a couple of false dawns throughout the season but each return resulted in another layoff which resulted in the £25 million signing from Arsenal making just 14 appearances all season.

His reintroduction this season has been much more considered as the club try and protect the 25-year-old from any further issues.

Serena Taylor/newcastleunited.com

Joe Willock is making a strong case for himself to nail down a starting place

Saying that, Willock took part in back to back games in quick succession last week working with Joelinton and Lewis Hall down the Newcastle left against Chelsea and Arsenal.

It's a new approach by Eddie Howe with Anthony Gordon playing wide right, and so far it's working brilliantly.

While Gordon's direct running is a problem down the right, the overlapping play between Willock, Joelinton and Hall down the left is causing defences no end of problems.

Eddie Howe shared how much of a miss Joe Willock has been

Now that Willock is approaching full fitness we expect to see more of it, especially given how impressed Howe has been with his return as reported by The Shields Gazette.

“Joe has had a tough time with injuries, It looked like a serious hamstring injury when he did it [against Brighton] and then he had complications in other areas of his body and it hasn’t been easy for him.

“He’s had a lot of moments where he has been incredibly frustrated that he hasn’t been able to kick-on and get to the levels we saw of him. I thought [v Chelsea] was his best game since his comeback, physically he looked really really good, that’s a major part of his armoury.

“His ability to run box-to-box quickly, his ability to sense where the ball is and run. That’s Joe at his best and I was really pleased to see it because he’s been a big miss for us because he adds a totally different feel to our midfield and he’s a goal threat.”