“Word elsewhere”: Craig Hope drops nightmarish NUFC claim that'll leave Howe fuming - opinion

A nightmarish Newcastle United injury claim has been made regarding centre-forward Callum Wilson…

Daily Mail reporter Craig Hope has hinted that the attacker could be out injured beyond the initial March timeframe given by his manager Eddie Howe.

Hope tweeted: “Interesting quotes from Callum Wilson on his BBC podcast, saying NUFC needed another striker in January & revealing there’s no timeframe on his return from injury. Eddie Howe said early March last month, but word elsewhere was it would be longer.”

Howe will surely be fuming with this news for multiple reasons.

Firstly, it suggests that he will be without Wilson’s talents for several Premier League matches throughout February and March, with Hope’s update not giving an exact date on when the 29-year-old could return. This could be a nightmare scenario for the Magpies, as he is a proven scorer in the top flight and crucial to the team’s chances of avoiding relegation.

Since the start of the 2020/21 campaign, Wilson has scored 18 league goals and provided five assists in 37 starts for Newcastle. Allan Saint-Maximin and Joe Willock (eight) are the team’s second-top scorers in that time, which highlights the drop-off in attacking quality between him and the rest of the squad.

Howe will also be fuming with this update, as it highlights the severity of PIF’s failures on deadline day. Newcastle had a £33m offer accepted for Reims striker Hugo Ekitike but were unable to persuade him to make the switch to England, ultimately failing to bring in a forward on the final day of the transfer window.

This has left Chris Wood as the Tynesiders’ main option at the top of the pitch. The former Burnley marksman has scored just three goals in 22 matches for Burnley and Newcastle in