Callum Wilson suffers setback, expected to miss four-to-six weeks

Newcastle United and England international striker Callum Wilson is set to miss four to six weeks due to a hamstring injury, according to Chris Waugh of The Athletic.

Waugh reported on Wednesday that scans were conducted after Wilson was benched at half-time during Newcastle’s Champions League 2-0 defeat at Borussia Dortmund last midweek, putting their European campaign in danger of being over quickly after it started.

Wilson, 31, missed the Premier League loss to Bournemouth last weekend with manager Eddie Howe already anticipating an absence lasting “a number of weeks.”

The scans confirmed an extended period on the sidelines, likely until the end of December if the worst-case scenario (six weeks) is confirmed.

The injury has also forced Wilson to withdraw from Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the current international break in which England is facing Malta and North Macedonia for a place in Euro 2024. England beat Malta 2-0 on Friday.

In a social media post, Wilson expressed his disappointment at the setback but vowed to return soon. To be fair, this man has the strongest mentality out there considering his track record with injuries. Sheesh...

Newcastle’s injury list now includes Jacob Murphy, Dan Burn, Elliot Anderson, Sven Botman, Harvey Barnes, Javier Manquillo, and Matt Targett, as well as Sweden international striker Alexander Isak. Isak, however, is expected to return after the international break. Sandro Tonali is also out navigating a 10-month suspension for gambling on football matches.

Howe will need to come up with something to solve th striker conundrum even if Isak returns, let alone if he is forced to miss a few more games. Isak is the only natural striker in the current squad other than Wilson, so if he misses time or just gets benched because of resting/rotational reasons, then Anthony Gordon would likely have to fill in as a makeshift center-forward before Wilson is back available to play.

Newcastle sits in seventh place in the Premier League, gearing up to face Chelsea on November 25 in a pivotal game before they also have to play a couple of final Champions League games trying to seal their qualification for the Europa League by finishing third in the group of death.