Why is Callum Wilson not playing against Manchester City? Newcastle striker yet to appear for Magpies this season

Today at 05:49 AM

Newcastle will continue to be without Callum Wilson for their daunting game against Manchester City this weekend.

The Magpies welcome the Premier League champions to St James’ Park, and it’s live on talkSPORT.

But they might not have a first-team forward, with Alexander Isak a doubt and Wilson unavailable due to injury.

Eddie Howe‘s side do have William Osula as well, but he’s young, raw and one for the future, so Anthony Gordon could lead the line.

Why is Wilson not playing against Man City?

Wilson hasn’t played for the Magpies since the final day of last season when they beat Brentford 4-2.

He came on as a substitute for nine minutes and hasn’t been seen since, playing no part in pre-season.

This is because, over the summer, he suffered a back injury that has kept him out of action.

Initially, he was only expected to miss the Toon’s first three games and be back in contention for the Magpies in early September.

Speaking about Wilson earlier this year, Howe said: "His recovery is going very well.

"He’s really positive and it’s not a long-term injury. He’s had an injection in his back and his back feels good.

"But there is a timescale for his return. I don’t think he’ll be back for Southampton, but hopefully, for the early games in September."

Unfortunately, as has been the case throughout a lot of his Newcastle career, Wilson has suffered a setback and is now not expected to return until after the October international break.

Speaking ahead of Newcastle’s 3-1 defeat to Fulham, Howe revealed the bad news.

He said: “Callum won't make the game.

"With Callum, we're looking at a situation where we're hoping to have him back in full training by the next international break, ready for the games following.

"Any injury to the hamstring is potentially complex. The back injury is there, but it was connected [to the hamstring issues]. There's been no re-injury, it's just been a case of readjusting the timescales depending on how he felt. We've had to listen to his body when he's delivered the work, and he's also been rescanned.

"It's maybe not healed as quickly as we'd hoped, so there's been a slight adjustment, but hopefully, we'll have him back fully fit and firing for the next group of games.

“That will be really important because we have missed him. We've really missed his energy and what he brings to the squad, and we've missed the competition that he brings."

Last season, the 32-year-old played just 20 Premier League games, scoring nine goals.

Meanwhile, in the 2022/23 campaign, when Newcastle finished fourth, he played 31 matches, scoring 18 times.

So, when he’s fit, he always scores goals, but the problem he’s had since moving to Tyneside is that he’s rarely available.

This will be a problem for Newcastle as they look to end Man City‘s unbeaten start to the season.