Newcastle United winger Allan Saint-Maximin’s participation in the side’s trip to Fulham on Saturday is a “50/50 call” at the moment.
That is according to Sky Sports contributor Ben Dinnery, who had been speaking on the latest Premier FPL Injuries update ahead of the weekend’s Premier League fixtures.
It had been reported last week that Saint-Maximin had suffered another setback in his recovery from a hamstring injury, with the winger not featuring for Eddie Howe’s side since he scored a stunning late equaliser in the Magpies’ 1-1 draw at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Howe described the injury as not being “long term” but the 25-year-old had suffered a “very minor setback”.
And Dinnery believes that the likelihood of the former France U21 international playing in this weekend’s trip to Craven Cottage hangs in the balance.
He said: “We also know that Allan Saint-Maximin suffered a slight setback in his recovery from a hamstring problem.
“So that brings his participation down at Craven Cottage as a 50/50 call.
“I would probably again look to err on the side of caution with that one given the fact that it’s a hamstring issue.
“And it could be Gameweek 10 when we see the Frenchman back in action – even if he does make the matchday squad, any minutes are likely to come from the bench.”
TIF Thoughts on Dinnery’s comments…
We believe Saint-Maximin’s setback for Howe’s side is a big blow in terms of the Magpies’ chances of getting a second victory of the season at Craven Cottage this weekend.
The side have struggled in attack since the Frenchman’s and Callum Wilson’s injury issues and there is no guarantee that either of the pair will be available at the weekend, whilst Alexander Isak and Chris Wood have also suffered injuries on international duty.
Therefore, we think that Newcastle fans will be desperate to see Saint-Maximin in the matchday squad, but will also accept that it’s better to be safe than sorry than risk a longer-term injury.