For any new player at a football club, the first few weeks are crucial. It’s a time to meet your teammates, settle into a new city, and most importantly, get on the pitch and show the fans what you can do.
For Newcastle United’s Jacob Ramsey, this period has been incredibly frustrating. His start to life as a Magpie began with promise.
He made his debut coming off the bench in the exciting match against Liverpool, and then he was given his first start in the next game away at Leeds United.
Unfortunately, that’s where his momentum came to a sudden halt. During the first half, he was involved in a tackle with former Newcastle player Sean Longstaff and picked up an injury that forced him to leave the pitch at half-time.
That was the last time Ramsey has been seen in a Newcastle shirt. Since that day, he has had to watch from the sidelines as his team has played several important matches.
He missed the league games against Wolves and Bournemouth, the big Champions League night against Barcelona, and the Carabao Cup victory over Bradford City.
The bad news is that his wait is not over yet. Manager Eddie Howe has provided an update, and it seems the midfielder will be out for another three weeks.
This means he will also miss the upcoming Premier League clash with Arsenal, the Champions League trip to Union Saint-Gilloise, and the league match against Nottingham Forest.
The current plan, according to Howe, is for Ramsey to target a return for the first game after the next international break.
That match is against Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday, October 18th. While being injured is never positive, there is a small silver lining.
Howe did say that Ramsey’s recovery is “going really well.” He is already back on the grass, which is a key step for any injured player, and is working hard to rebuild his fitness.
The manager noted that if Ramsey manages to return any earlier than the Brighton game, it would mean he is ahead of schedule.
For now, the club is taking a careful and patient approach to make sure he is fully ready before throwing him back into the intense pressure of Premier League football.
In a strange coincidence, Ramsey might not be the only new signing making a belated return around that same time.
Newcastle’s other major deadline-day acquisition, striker Yoane Wissa, is also aiming for a comeback after the international break. Wissa’s situation has been particularly disappointing for everyone involved.
The club paid £55 million to sign him from Brentford, but he got injured while playing for his national team, the Democratic Republic of Congo, just days after joining. He hasn’t even had a chance to train with his new teammates, let alone play a game.
Howe admitted that losing Wissa so immediately was a “huge blow.” When you sign a player, you have a plan for how they will fit into the team, and that plan was disrupted before it even started.
The manager highlighted that one of the biggest advantages of signing Wissa was that he is “Premier League ready.”
He knows the league, he has scored goals in it, and he could have made an instant impact. His absence has placed more responsibility on the shoulders of the club’s record signing, Nick Woltemade, who is himself adapting to a new league after moving from Germany.
Howe has confirmed that Wissa’s injury does not require surgery, which is good news. The focus is on treatment and rehabilitation.
The hope is that both Wissa and Ramsey will be like new signings all over again when they return in mid-October. For Eddie Howe, it has been a challenging start to the season in terms of managing his squad.
Key players he was counting on have been unavailable. However, the prospect of finally having his full complement of attacking players available after the international break is a bright light on the horizon.
The team has had to be resilient, and the return of these two important players will provide a major boost for the busy months of the season that lie ahead.
