Magpies pencil in Barton's return

Apr 15 2009 by Luke Edwards, The Journal

JOEY Barton could be back to bolster Newcastle United’s struggling midfield against Portsmouth at the end of the month despite claims he has suffered a setback in his recovery from a broken metatarsal.

Barton has only played eight games for Newcastle this season, missing the start of the campaign due to his imprisonment for assault before injuring his knee against Wigan Athletic back in November following a reckless tackle by former Middlesbrough youngster Lee Cattermole.

That ruled the 26-year-old out of action for another two months, only for the midfielder to break his metatarsal against Manchester City in January in only his second game back in the squad.

Having thanked the club and its supporters for sticking by him after he pleaded guilty to two separate charges of assault last summer, Barton is itching to return in time to help save them from relegation and has pencilled in the Pompey game on April 27 for his latest comeback.

“There has been a suggestion that Joey has had a setback somewhere, but that isn’t the case,” said Newcastle’s new assistant manager Iain Dowie, who will handle media responsibilities during the week to help ease the burden on rookie boss Alan Shearer. “Everything is fine with him and his recovery is on schedule as far as we’re all concerned.

“He desperately wants to get back playing again and we are all looking at the Portsmouth game at the moment for him to do that. If that comes round a little too soon for him, then it will be the game after that.

“We’ll have to see how he goes over the next week or so, but he is very determined, as you would imagine. That’s the sort of character he is and hopefully he can play some part in that game.”