Yoane Wissa will not go to AFCON with DR Congo – and is pushing for his Newcastle debut this weekend.
The 29-year-old has now played in behind-closed-doors practice games at the club’s training ground after recovering from a knee injury.
Wissa suffered PCL damage playing for his country just a week after arriving on Tyneside in a £55million deal from Brentford on September 1. He only trained with his new team-mates for the first time last week.
And supporters, as well as manager Eddie Howe, are now celebrating the news that the 29-year-old will not take part in AFCON, which kicks off on December 21.
The decision to omit Wissa from the DR Congo squad was taken after a discussion between all parties, and allows Wissa to focus on building fitness with Newcastle.
£55million man Yoane Wissa is finally closing in on his debut after a knee injury
Eddie Howe saw his side run riot with a 4-1 Premier League win at Everton on Saturday
The striker is said to be pushing for a place on the bench at home to Burnley on Saturday.
Meanwhile, new CEO David Hopkinson says the club are still not close to making a final decision on whether to stay at St James’ Park or move to a new stadium on Leazes Park, despite former club chiefs saying it was ‘imminent’ last year.
Hopkinson was asked at a fan event what was happening with a new stadium or renovation of St James’, and said: ‘I don’t know! We’re not going to lie to you. What’s clear is, to be at the top, we need to build revenues and we need world class facilities to build those revenues.
‘But we have not made that decision yet. We are working on it every day. St James’ is incredible and there’s still big opportunities, whether that’s reinvented or re-imagined, I don’t know.
‘There is complexity around the (stadium) project – around financing, project planning. It will be the most ambitious project this club has ever taken on. But we’re not ready for grand announcements yet.’
