Joe Willock hamstring injury set to sideline him for at least another month

Joe Willock looks set to be out of action until mid-September as he continues his recovery from the hamstring injury he picked up at the end of last season.

The fleet-footed midfielder had to miss the last few games of the 2022/23 campaign due to the issue, and although he was included in the squad that went to the United States for the Premier League Summer Series and featured in the XI vs. XI game during the open training session held in Atlanta, he hasn't featured at all in pre-season.

This is because he reported new discomfort in his hamstring earlier this month, leading to the Magpies’ medical team adjusting his training schedule. Consequently, he won't be in contention for the opening match of the season against Aston Villa tomorrow and isn't anticipated to be fit until the conclusion of the September international break.

"Joe’s worked hard through the summer," commented Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe. “He’s had a really bad hamstring injury. It was a serious injury to his hamstring, and he obviously missed the end of last season and was working back through pre-season.

"He just felt a bit of discomfort in his hamstring, not necessarily another pull to the area, just a bit of discomfort, but we’ve had to lock him down again and he’s in the process of building himself back up now. I think we’ll probably miss him for the first group of games before the first international break."

All of us here wish Joe all the best in his recovery, as he was absolutely superb for much of last season. We're looking forward to seeing him back in the black and white doing things like this: