Newcastle United have been handed an injury boost involving Jonjo Shelvey and his recovery from a long-term hamstring injury.

The Lowdown: Positives and negatives

Speaking to the media in his pre-game press conference ahead of their match at home to Everton in the Premier League, Eddie Howe had some positive and negative news on the injury front for the St. James’ Park faithful.

On the plus side, the manager has confirmed that Fabian Schar should be ‘fine’ to play after nursing a foot injury, however, he also shared that both Alexander Isak and Allan Saint-Maximin have suffered setbacks in their respective recoveries from injury.

The Latest: Shelvey update

Howe also gave an update on the fitness of Shelvey, sharing that he is ‘looking really good’ and working ‘very hard’ in his recovery, although he is still in the ‘early stages’ of coming back:

“We are continuing to work him very hard but he’s still in the early stages of coming back. We’re building his load and building his training time but he’s looking really good. We just want to be careful in the latter stages of his injury.”

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The Verdict: Promising

The progress that Shelvey is making in his recovery is certainly promising in terms of returning at 100 per cent from what can be such a troublesome injury.

The central midfielder has not featured yet this season, but did make a return to the bench in the 0-0 draw away at Manchester United on Sunday afternoon (Transfermarkt).

He was a key player under Howe last term, playing in every game bar one in the top flight when he was available, and even captained the side towards the latter stages (Transfermarkt).

Nonetheless, while a return against Everton tonight may be a step too far for Shelvey, at least he is showing positive signs of a comeback.