Newcastle United striker injured for eight weeks in new training ground update – £58m duo not playing against Fulham

Before Saturday’s Premier League match against Fulham at St. James’ Park (3pm kickoff), Eddie Howe has ruled out two Newcastle United players.
Harvey Barnes and Callum Wilson will not play for Fulham because of thigh and hamstring problems, respectively. Barnes was sent off at halftime in the 3-1 FA Cup victory over Bromley a few weeks ago, and Wilson has been sidelined for the past eight weeks after hurting his hamstring in the final moments of the 4-2 loss at Brentford in December.

Howe had already stated that Wilson will return to the race at the beginning of February, while Barnes would return in the middle to end of the month. The Premier League game on Saturday is, as anticipated, too soon for the two.

“This weekend, there’s no chance,” Howe said. “Callum is making progress. He appeared well when we saw him in training this week, though not for the entire session.

 

Though there is a chance for the games after, the aim is not to use him this week. Harvey is a little behind schedule, but I believe he will catch up in the following two to three weeks.

Following the Fulham game, Newcastle will face Arsenal in the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final on Wednesday at St. James’ Park, with a kickoff of 8 p.m. The Magpies will be aiming to make it to the final at Wembley Stadium for the second time in three seasons, having led 2-0 in the first leg at Emirates Stadium.

Wilson has a chance to play in that game, but the FA Cup fourth-round match against Birmingham City on Saturday, February 8 (5:45 p.m. kickoff) is a more likely return date. Due to a number of fitness concerns, Wilson has not yet started a game for Newcastle this season, and Barnes has also experienced injuries since joining from Leicester City in the summer of 2023 for £38 million.