Kieran Trippier’s Fitness in Doubt for Newcastle’s FA Cup Clash Against Sunderland
Newcastle United’s Kieran Trippier is facing a race against time to be fit for the team’s highly anticipated FA Cup match against arch-rivals Sunderland. Trippier sustained a groin injury during training, causing him to miss the team’s recent 4-2 defeat to Liverpool. Unfortunately, he joins Callum Wilson on the treatment table, as Wilson suffered a calf injury in the Boxing Day defeat to Nottingham Forest.
Despite the mounting injury list, Newcastle manager Eddie Howe remains hopeful that at least one player will be ready for selection on Saturday. Howe stated, “With Kieran [Trippier], we are going to give him a late test today. And we will see how he is. With Callum Wilson, it is not too bad but enough to keep him out of this game and our next game. But hopefully, we will have him back for Aston Villa.”
The upcoming fixture between Newcastle and Sunderland will reignite the Tyne-Wear rivalry, which has not taken place since Newcastle’s relegation to the Championship in 2016. While Newcastle quickly returned to the Premier League, Sunderland has faced struggles and currently competes in League One.
Newcastle’s record against their north-east rivals has been less than impressive, with their last victory over Sunderland occurring in August 2011. However, Howe is optimistic that his team can rise to the occasion and end their poor record against Sunderland.
“We know what it means to everybody, this game, so hopefully, we can give a good account of ourselves,” Howe said. “When the draw was made, I gave a couple of the Geordie [players] an opportunity to speak about the fixture just to set the scene. Since then, the players know what the fixture means to everybody.”
In other news, Dominik Szoboszlai’s injury rules him out of two Liverpool games, as confirmed by Jurgen Klopp. Additionally, Eddie Howe has spoken about Newcastle’s January transfer plans.
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