Eddie Howe has admitted that Nick Pope is “running out of time” to prove his fitness for England ahead of this summer’s European Championship as the goalkeeper edges towards a playing return for Newcastle United.
Pope has been absent for Newcastle since early December after dislocating his shoulder in a 1-0 victory over Manchester United, missing 24 matches in all competitions. Howe revealed that the nature of the injury has presented Pope with “psychological barriers.”
The 32-year-old has 10 England caps but has not played for his country since September 2022. He was omitted from Gareth Southgate’s squad earlier this season after undergoing surgery on his hand last May.
Newcastle are hopeful that Pope, whose sweeper-keeper style has been a huge miss to the team, will be available to play before the end of the season, but in terms of the Euros a small window appears to be closing.
“That’s difficult for me to answer because he’s not training with us at the moment,” Newcastle head coach Howe said at his press conference ahead of the side’s Premier League match at Crystal Palace.
Pope suffered the shoulder injury in December during a game against Manchester United (Stu Forster/Getty Images)
“He’s on the final stages of his work with physios, goalkeeper coaches, sort of in a controlled way. Of course, when he comes back into training with us, everything becomes uncontrolled and that’s the next step for him.
“I mean, we are running out of time in terms of the season because the games will go very, very quickly for him. But he’s looking good at the moment. When the goalkeeper gets that type of injury, there’s psychological barriers you have to overcome naturally because it’s such an important part of your body.
“And you have to start to feel normal in your reflexes and your actions. He’s certainly looking a lot better at the moment.”
How to follow Euro 2024 on The Athletic…
Callum Wilson, the England striker, is also nearing a first-team return after a full week of training and has recovered well from the pectoral muscle surgery he underwent in February.
Howe is backing Wilson to “show what we’ve been missing,” in spite of the fine form of Alexander Isak, his fellow forward, but admits that the future is opaque for the 32-year-old. Wilson has one more season of his contract remaining and with Newcastle needing to raise funds in order to buy this summer, it is effectively their last opportunity to cash in on him.
Given Wilson and Isak’s checkered history with injuries, Newcastle are already scouting versatile forwards, but replacing Wilson would not be cheap.
“It’s a great question because I think it’s undoubted how I feel about Calum, how I feel about his qualities, what he can offer the team,” Howe said. “And if you lose a player, for example, of that quality, then to find a player of equal standard will cost the club a lot of money. So, that’s always a big talking point about any business we do in the summer.
“It’s always about two things, if you lose a player, how can you replace the same quality with Financial Fair Play implications around the corner. So, yeah, there’s a lot to think about.”
Clubs in Saudi Arabia have been monitoring Wilson’s position at St James’ Park.
(Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images)
Read the full article here