Newcastle United have received a timely double injury boost ahead of their UEFA Champions League playoff second leg clash against Qarabag, with both Yoane Wissa and Sven Botman returning to training.
The Magpies hold a commanding five-goal advantage from the first leg last week, leaving them almost guaranteed of a place in the next round of the competition.
Eddie Howe’s side have been dealing with a mounting injury crisis in recent weeks, but the availability of Wissa and Botman will come as a major boost.
Wissa has endured an injury-disrupted debut campaign at the club following his summer move from Brentford and sat out the 6-1 win in the first leg with a bruised knee.
The injury also kept him out of last Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Manchester City, although he has now recovered and could make his fourth Champions League appearance of the season.
Botman, meanwhile, has been sidelined for Newcastle’s last three matches with a back problem, and his return would be particularly welcome, as they have struggled to keep clean sheets in recent outings.
“We hope they’ll be involved. We’ll see how they are when they wake up, but fingers crossed they will be”, Howe confirmed during Monday’s pre-match press conference in quotes revealed by the official Newcastle United website.
However, the Magpies will still be without Bruno Guimaraes, Emil Krafth, Lewis Miley, Tino Livramento and Joelinton, who are still sidelined with injury.
Despite their comfortable advantage, Newcastle will be hoping to finish the job in style as they close in on a historic first-ever Round of 16 spot in the Champions League, where they will face either Chelsea or Barcelona.
