Some Newcastle United fans are pleased to have Matt Ritchie back in the squad as the Toon prepare for a trip to play Rochdale in the FA Cup.
Ritchie has missed almost all of the season after Hamza Choudhury brutally tackled him in the Carabao Cup earlier in the season.
Have Newcastle missed Ritchie?
Yes, he is a vital part of the side
No, they have done well without him
Since then, the 30-year-old has had setback after setback, but Steve Bruce confirmed that he would be on the bench for Newcastle.
Although, the long list of absentees has made a number of fans feel rather negative about tomorrow’s prospects.
Injury update: Fabian Schar, Jetro Willems, Javier Manquillo and Jonjo Shelvey all out for Rochdale.
Too early for Dummett and Clark.
DeAndre Yedlin fit despite hand injury and Matt Ritchie set for bench role.
Bruce to include three to four youngsters in squad #nufc
— Lee Ryder (@lee_ryder) January 3, 2020
Thank god Ritchie is back on the radar!! We’ve missed him driving us forward. Top player
— AJ (@handygammon) January 3, 2020
thought Ritchie was having surgery? :S
— Marcus Darpö (@MDarpo) January 3, 2020
@JamieTomsett good to see Ritchie back on the bench
— jordan tomsett (@jtomsett93) January 3, 2020
@LeeGalloway Ritchie back from absolutely nowhere all of a sudden?
— Arran Warren (@ArranWarren4) January 3, 2020
Other Toon supporters are worried that they will crash out of the FA Cup.
That’s us out then
— Dan Holmes (@DanToon4Life) January 3, 2020
May as well stay home, put kettle on and pluck the hairs from my legs one at a time with tweezers ??
— Truffle Mouse (@Sniffer67) January 3, 2020
This has upset written all over it
— Tom Gray (@TomFLGray) January 3, 2020
Rochdale will make short work of us as we fold again like a pack of cards. I cannot see anything more than a Rochdale win
— Bedford_Mag (@labpedro) January 3, 2020
What do we think?
Ritchie, who is valued at £10.8m by Transfermarkt, is a key player in the Toon’s dressing room, and it will be good for morale to have him back in the side.
Jetro Willems has done a stellar job as left-wing-back for most of the season, but over the festive period, he looked to be showing signs of tiredness.
So, the return of Ritchie has come at the perfect time. Newcastle have some serious injury problems, but Bruce did say he would play his strongest XI against Rochdale.
It will be interesting to see if they can get through to the next round.