‘Serious’ – Newcastle face anxious Joe Willock wait after shock injury news
Newcastle United will now be anxiously waiting for an update after Joe Willock was stretchered off during their latest friendly.
The Magpies went down 1-0 to a K-League All Stars team in Seoul on Wednesday, meaning they’ve now lost all three of their pre-season friendlies so far — after disappointing 4-0 and 3-2 results against Celtic and Arsenal, respectively.
That has only added to the frustration around St. James’ Park after Newcastle missed out on the signings of Hugo Ekitike and James Trafford, while Alexander Isak could yet complete a blockbuster move to Liverpool.
But things got a whole lot worse for Eddie Howe on Wednesday, with Joe Willock picking up an injury.
Joe Willock stretchered off in Newcastle friendly
Willock was named in the starting line-up against the K-League All Stars and made it all the way through until the second minute of second-half stoppage time.
However, the 25-year-old then signalled to the Newcastle dugout while clutching the back of his ankle after making a challenge, eventually being stretchered off the field — as described by Craig Hope of the Daily Mail.
If serious, this will be the latest setback for Willock, who has suffered terribly from injuries since joining Newcastle from Arsenal in 2021.
In fact, the former England international has already missed 51 matches for the Magpies due to various fitness issues (Transfermarkt).
Eddie Howe gives Joe Willock update
Naturally, Howe was quizzed about the nature of Willock’s injury after the match.
Although he didn’t have a definitive update so soon after the incident, the Newcastle boss did seem hopeful that the issue isn’t as major as it first appeared.
“I don’t have a major update yet, but it didn’t look great on the pitch,” Howe said (Craig Hope, 30 July), adding: “But at this moment, it doesn’t look like a major, major injury. And fingers crossed it’s not, because Joe has suffered enough. Hopefully, he’s okay.”
| Newcastle stats | Joe Willock |
| Appearances | 143 |
| Goals | 18 |
| Assists | 8 |
| Games missed through injury/fitness | 51 |
A major injury to Willock now would be awful timing for Newcastle after they just allowed Sean Longstaff to leave for Leeds United.
The Magpies still have Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali, Joelinton and Lewis Miley at their disposal, but the latter has also been linked with a summer exit, while each player performs a very different role in the squad.
Howe has enough to focus on in bringing in a new striker and getting a deal for goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale over the line without having to unexpectedly dip into the market again for a midfielder.