Bruce banking on Saint-maximin’s recovery turning Toon’s fortunes around
STEVE Bruce is pinning his hopes of sparking a Newcastle revival on the impending return of Allan Saint-maximin following his lengthy coronavirus lay-off.
The 23-year-old Frenchman has been out of action for more than two months following the outbreak of Covid-19 which prompted the closure of the club’s training headquarters in November, and his absence has robbed head coach Bruce of one of his brightest sparks during a nine-game winless run.
However, Saint-maximin has trained this week and has been included in the squad for this evening’s Premier League trip to Aston Villa, and that can only be good news for Toon, who have seen their season unravel alarmingly since the middle of December.
Bruce said: “Arguably our most creative player, the one who’s your player of the year, then of course you’re going to miss him, and we have missed him for the best part of a couple of months.
“When he was in and around the team, we looked a threat, we could play that little bit deeper and play teams on the counter-attack.
“If you are a mainly counter-attacking team, then you have to have pace on the turnover, and without Allan, then we haven’t got that blistering pace that he possesses, so we’re delighted to see him back.
“He will certainly make us a little bit more entertaining, he will certainly help us win a few games, so it is good to see him in and around it again.”
With the likes of defenders Federico Fernandez and Fabian Schar, who have been playing in recent weeks, still coping with the after-effects of the virus, Saint-maximin’s condition has been closely monitored.
Bruce said: “I wouldn’t expect him to be starting on Saturday. But he’ll be there if he’s needed.”