Newcastle United boss Rafa Benitez has said that the injured trio of Mo Diame, Paul Dummett and Ki Sung-Yeung could feature against Wolves next Monday.
Left-back Dummett has been sidelined due to a hamstring issue, midfielder Diame has been absent due to a hip injury and Ki has also been out due to a hamstring injury, but Benitez has said that all three players could feature now that they are close to reaching full fitness.
However, Jonjo Shelvey is unlikely to be fit in time for the upcoming clash, but he is set to make a return for their match against Huddersfield Town on February 23, while Yoshinori Muto will return after being away for the Asian Cup.
“I think Diame, Ki and Dummett are quite close, more so than Jonjo. We will see but the others are quite close so hopefully they will be available [against Wolves],” he said, as quoted by the Chronicle.
OPINION
Newcastle have been really struggling with injuries lately, so the fact that these three players are likely to feature against Wolves will give the team a massive boost. However, seeing as it is Ki and Diame who are nearing full fitness, where will they fit into the starting XI now that Sean Longstaff has been blowing everyone away? Longstaff does not deserve to be axed after the performances he has been putting in recently, and there would no doubt be an uproar from the fans if Benitez decided to include either player at his expense. Dummett being back is also a boost for the team, as Benitez has been playing a back five in his absence, consisting of Matt Ritchie operating at left wing-back. This would allow Ritchie to return to his preferred role in the midfield and allow the back back four to be more defensively solid on Monday.