Medical expert names exact Saint-Maximin return date after what he’s ‘spotted’ at Newcastle
Allan Saint-Maximin will return for Newcastle United against Watford on 15 January after a suspected calf injury.
That is the view of injury expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in medicine and data analysis.
Saint-Maximin, whose deft finish early on gave Newcastle the lead, was taken off in the 83rd minute of the 1-1 draw with Man United on Monday (27 December).
Per BBC Sport later that evening, Eddie Howe claimed that the winger’s setback was “not as serious [as Callum Wilson’s] but serious enough to bring him off.”
Star striker Wilson has also suffered a calf injury but will be out for “months”, according to Howe.
The Daily Mail‘s Craig Hope tweeted yesterday (29 December) that Saint Maximin’s injury is in fact “not serious at all”.
Dinnery claims that Frenchman’s body language would seem to confirm that his calf is the problem.
“I spotted that he’d indicated that it was an issue with his right calf,” he told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.
“If he is saying that he is going to be out for a couple of weeks, we are talking a low-grade injury.
“He will have MRI imaging to confirm the extent of that problem. That would suggest that it is maybe a grade one going into a grade two.
“But we have seen that Saint-Maximin’s playing style draws a lot of contact and he picks up a lot of knocks.
“He worked tirelessly against Man United so there was probably a little bit of fatigue involved.
“My initial thoughts were that there was no need to take any chances before the FA Cup.
“So we could see him return in game week 22, around about mid-January.”
Fan favourite Saint-Maximin has registered four goals and three assists in 19 league appearances this term.
Newcastle were due to play Everton tonight (30 December) but that clash has been postponed due to mass Covid-related absences.
In other news, pundit tips Newcastle United to spend “£50million” on “next Alan Shearer” after Craig Hope reveal.