Newcastle take on Aston Villa at St. James’ Park this weekend

Newcastle United will be without Emil Krafth and Joe Willock for the Premier League curtain raiser

against Aston Villa at St. James’ Park this weekend. The Magpies kick start their 2023/24 campaign

on home soil against one of the standout teams in the division last year.

Unai Emery’s side qualified for the Europa Conference League and finished just ten points behind

the Magpies. However, Eddie Howe heads into the tie with a near full strength squad at his

disposal.

Summer signings Harvey Barnes, Sandro Tonali and Tino Livramento could all feature for

Newcastle this weekend, while the Toon head coach has plenty of decisions to make before selecting

his starting XI.

Chronicle Live has taken a look at the current injury situation at St. James’ Park and compiled the latest below.

Emil Krafth

What Eddie Howe said: “He’s doing well. As you have when you have a serious injury, he’s had

good days and bad days, good spells and bad spells where he’s not felt so good.

“He’s slowly coming into a good feeling in his body. He’s worked incredibly hard. Anyone who

knows Emil, he’s a fantastic character and we’ve missed him greatly I have to say that, both as a

character and a player.

“He’s not training with the team yet but he’s very, very early stages with the sports science so we’re

probably looking at four to six weeks before he’s back training with the team.”

Expected return date: October

Injury: ACL

Joe Willock

What Eddie Howe said: “Joe has worked hard through the summer. He had a serious injury to

his hamstring, he missed the back end of last season.

“He’s just felt a little bit of discomfort in his hamstring, not necessarily another pull but some

discomfort. We’ll probably miss him for the first group of games before the first international

break.”

Expected return date: September 17

Injury: Hamstring