Eddie Howe drops major hint that Yoane Wissa will be in Newcastle United's squad on Saturday
Newcastle United fans may finally be about to get their first glimpse of £55 million summer signing Yoane Wissa, who is still waiting to be part of a match-day squad for the first time.
Burnley come to St James' Park on Saturday for a good old 3 pm kick off, which means no live TV coverage on these shores.
Those in St James' Park or those who are watching from 'abroad' may finally get to see Yoane Wissa in a Newcastle shirt and football boots rather than wearing the shirt and leaning up against a wall, which is all we've seen so far.
After picking up a knee injury on international duty just after signing for Newcastle, it seems the 29-year-old is nearing his long-awaited return from injury.
Eddie Howe drops a huge hint on Yoane Wissa's involvement on Saturday
When speaking to the media on Friday morning, Eddie Howe admitted they don't have the luxury of waiting much longer for Wissa to be ready.
"[Wissa is] Getting closer. We did 11 v 11 game on Wednesday, which was more minutes for him. Round about half an hour so we will see how he is today. So far he's looked good and come through everything. We still have training today and we have to make a decision if he is not just fit but fit to make a difference.
"I think it will be a big boost for us and for the squad to have someone of his experience, calibre and quality back in the group. We need to be mindful of how long he's been out and how little training he's had. Normally, we want to give him more, but in our situation, we don't have the grace to do that. He's a great finisher, but match sharpness is the concern to make sure we bring him back at the right time."
We expect Yoane Wissa may be given a half-hour run-out on Saturday
It is sounding like Wissa is going to be on the bench on Saturday, but the real question is how many minutes he will get, if any?
As much as Newcastle could do with another option up front, it would be foolish to rush Wissa back and overload him too soon in case it backfires, so we don't expect him to be given more than half an hour on the field on Saturday.
He has come through a couple of 11v11 games in the last week, so he's not completely without fitness, but a Premier League encounter is going to be far more intense than a training game so we still need to be cautious.
