Newcastle United defender Kieran Trippier has returned to full training with The Magpies, despite withdrawing from the England squad in recent days.
The 33-year-old, who started at right-back in England’s fairly tepid 2-0 defeat of Malta in UEFA EURO 2024 qualification on Friday evening, withdrew from The Three Lions’ squad ahead of their trip to Skopje in their final qualifier against North Macedonia on Monday night citing ‘personal reasons’ for his departure from the camp.
The Bury-born right-back has trained with his club team, though, and will be fully fit and available for Newcastle as they welcome Mauricio Pochettino’s in-form Chelsea to St James’ Park on Saturday afternoon.
Trippier was seen arguing with Newcastle supporters at the end of their 2-0 defeat to AFC Bournemouth, prior to the November international break, in which he raised the point that The Magpies were suffering from a lot of injuries and absentees so it will be a relief to many that the former Manchester City academy graduate will be available this weekend.
Trippier, who has scored one goal in 46 caps for his national team, began his playing career with City, as mentioned, before joining Eddie Howe’s Burnley in 2012 after a loan spell with The Clarets, which had followed two temporary stints at Barnsley.
After 185 appearances for the Lancastrian club, he moved to Tottenham Hotspur where he joined his upcoming adversary, Mauricio Pochettino. He was a part of the Spurs side that reached the UEFA Champions League final in 2019 before joining Atletico Madrid that summer and winning the Spanish title with Los Rojiblancos in 2021.
Trippier returned to England in the January transfer window of 2022, becoming the first signing of the Saudi-owned Newcastle era, joining for a fee believed to be in the region of £13 million. He has been a key cog in their revolution under the management of Eddie Howe and has often been the captain of the side when club skipper Jamaal Lascelles is not in the starting line-up.
