Wissa Club V Country Row Looming As Howe Avoids Questions On Afcon Availability

Yoane Wissa could go embroiled successful a nine v state statement aft Eddie Howe declined to corroborate whether he would beryllium happy for Newcastle’s £55m striker to correspond nan Democratic Republic of nan Congo successful this winter’s Africa Cup of Nations.

Wissa is sidelined pinch a posterior cruciate ligament wounded sustained connected world work pinch nan Leopards successful September and has not kicked a shot for Newcastle since his summer transportation deadline time move to St James’s Park from Brentford. The 29-year-old has only conscionable begun ray moving connected writer and is still receiving aggravated physiotherapy connected his knee earlier a prospective first squad debut successful mid-November.

Alan Shearer is among those pundits suggesting that Wissa should cull an almost inevitable call-up from DR Congo for nan tourney successful Morocco successful December and January and, instead, prioritise playing for Newcastle.

When Howe was asked if he endorsed that standpoint, Newcastle’s head avoided answering nan mobility directly. “That’s a speech and a taxable I’m not going to get progressive in,” he said. “That’s not adjacent connected Yoane. I haven’t seen Alan’s comments but that’s 1 I’ll enactment distant from.”

Right now Howe – whose broadside recreation to Brighton connected Saturday – is simply relieved that Wissa’s knee is recovering truthful quickly from an wounded that tin sometimes require room and a nine-month layoff. “It’s awesome to spot Yoane connected nan writer for nan first time,” he said. “He’s reacted beautiful good to that activity truthful far. Now, it’s a lawsuit of trying to measurement him up gradually.”

Shearer believes Wissa, 1 of DR Congo’s champion players, acted irresponsibly successful playing a cardinal domiciled during nan World Cup qualifiers successful September, contempt hardly training pinch Brentford during a adjacent play spent mostly trying to unit a move to Tyneside.

Eddie Howe hopes to person Yoane Wissa disposable for Newcastle from mid-November, but nan Africa Cup of Nations kicks disconnected successful December. Photograph: Gary Oakley/EPA

“It will beryllium a really difficult determination for Wissa not to spell to Afcon,” said nan erstwhile Newcastle skipper and manager. “But, because of him not training aliases playing during nan summer, he could person shown much work successful not playing arsenic overmuch arsenic he did successful those 2 games erstwhile he went distant connected world duty.”

Meanwhile, Newcastle officials are successful regular interaction pinch their counterparts successful Marseille complete arrangements for visiting fans wanting to recreation to nan French metropolis for nan teams’ Champions League gathering successful precocious November.

In September nan Marseille agency of France’s ministry of nan interior imposed a full prohibition connected Ajax fans entering nan metropolis only 3 days earlier their Champions League fixture pinch nan Dutch side. Newcastle dream their fans will debar a akin script but cannot discount that possibility.

A nine spokesperson said: “From nan accusation we person now, astatine this infinitesimal successful time, our fans are permitted to recreation to Marseille. We person very clear instructions from nan authorities successful Marseille for erstwhile they do travel. So we’ll instrumentality to that and fto you cognize if there’s immoderate change.”

Many Newcastle fans person already made recreation arrangements while a bid of typical supporters’ charter flights person been organised to alert them nonstop from Tyneside to nan southbound of France.