Newcastle United suffer significant injury blow as surgery rules out star for two months

Howe ruled him out for the pre-season and the first game of the Premier League campaign.

Following Newcastle’s 2-0 victory over Hull City at the MKM Stadium, Eddie Howe confirmed that striker Callum Wilson has undergone surgery for a bulging disc and is expected to miss the Premier League opener against Southampton on August 17, as reported by Dominic Scurr of The Shields Gazette.

“Callum had an injection in his back. Without going into too much detail on the injury, I think it was a bulge in his disc which needed treatment so he had that operation and I think he may miss the start of the season,” Howe said. “But thankfully there are not too many games at the start. We’re week-to-week so hopefully he won’t miss too many.”

Even if Wilson only ends up missing one official game, that means he won’t be able to play in any of the pre-season matches organized by the Magpies as they get ready for the start of the Premier League campaign. Wilson already missed the game against Hull on Saturday, July 26, and won’t appear in any of the remaining friendlies this summer—against Urawa Red, Yokohama, Girona, and Brest.

After the Southampton match, however, things get a bit more promising for Newcastle and the forward. Following the opener against the Saints, the Magpies will travel to meet Howe’s and Wilson’s former club, AFC Bournemouth, at the Vitality Stadium on August 25. With a week between both games, if all goes according to plan, Wilson should be able to at least make the squad for the trip to Bournemouth.

That’d be something new for him, mind you, as Wilson somehow has not been able to play against his former club since joining Newcastle in 2020 because of one reason or another.

There is also the chance—as big or small as you want to consider it—that Wilson never again dresses in black and white stripes. Wilson is widely known to be available for sale as he is entering the final year under contract at Newcastle. Obviously, his injury is likely to make any transfer harder than expected, although there is still plenty of time for the Magpies to find suitors willing to land Wilson now instead of having to enter a bidding war for his services once he’s available to negotiate with any and everybody on January 1.

Truth be told, and even though he’s “only” 32 years old and he’s not been in Newcastle for even five calendar years, Wilson already ranks second in the Magpie goalscorer ranks trailing the legendary Alan Shreaer, who nobody (yes, nobody) will ever catch.