Revealed: The BIZARRE reason why Matt Targett has been ruled out of Newcastle’s clash with champions Man City
Matt Targett has been ruled out of Newcastle’s match against Manchester City on Saturday afternoon for a reason rarely seen.
Newcastle host the champions at St James’ Park in the 12.30 kick-off and could move ahead of them if they win by four goals or more.
Eddie Howe’s team have made a strong start to the season and are in sixth place with ten points after six games, but suffered their first defeat against Fulham last time.
Targett has not played this season, but if Howe wanted to call on him, he cannot now.
“Matt had a flare-up of eczema, so he’s been dealing with that for the last few weeks,” Howe explained.
Matt Targett has been ruled out of the match between Newcastle and Manchester City due to eczema
“It’s been a pretty bad episode for him. We hope to get him back in training, but he won’t play this weekend.’
Targett, 29, initially joined Aston Villa on loan for the 2021-22 season and was signed on a four-year deal for £15 million that summer.
Despite his promise during that loan spell, he has suffered three major injuries during his time in the North East and missed 35 games last season due to long-term hamstring and Achilles tendon injuries.
A more pressing concern for the first team is that Alexander Isak is a major doubt for the City game due to a broken toe.
“He’s had scans and a lot of tests,” Howe said. ‘The injury has been diagnosed well. It sounds worse than it is, but he has a broken toe. It is one that can be handled and played with, provided he can tolerate the pain levels, and does not pose any long-term risks. He was given an injection to numb the pain, which went well until the injection wore off (at Fulham).
‘He would be a doubt for tomorrow (Man City). He trained last week for the Fulham match on Friday. He got an injection in his toe to play and he felt fine, but then he started feeling his toe in the last five to 10 minutes of that game.
“It stiffened up a bit after the game and wasn’t in a great spot early in the week. He hasn’t trained yet, so we will have to decide again whether he trains today or misses the match.’
More to follow.