Injury boost for Newcastle as strikers Joelinton and Muto return to training

Newcastle head coach Steve Bruce has been handed a double boost by the return to training of strikers Joelinton and Yoshinori Muto.

Joelinton was substituted during the first half of the Magpies’ 3-2 FA Cup fourth round replay victory at Oxford last Tuesday evening with a rib injury, while Muto has been sidelined since the third round draw with Rochdale on January 4 because of a hip problem.

However, both men have been able to train since the squad returned from their winter break on Tuesday, and that will have come as a relief to Bruce, who is still without Andy Carroll and Dwight Gayle because of hip and hamstring issues respectively.

A statement on the club’s official website said: “Joelinton and Yoshinori Muto both trained as Newcastle United prepared for Sunday’s Premier League trip to Arsenal this week.

“Steve Bruce’s players returned from their winter break on Tuesday and continued their work on the training pitch on Wednesday.

“Joelinton suffered a rib injury at Oxford United in Newcastle’s last game, while fellow forward Muto hasn’t played since he was hurt at Rochdale early last month, but both looked sharp as they looked to catch the head coach’s eye for the Gunners game.”