Newcastle landed Yoshinori Muto from Mainz over the summer.
Newcastle United boss Rafael Benitez has told The Chronicle that forward Yoshinori Muto is ‘fit and fine’ and could return to playing soon after a recent spell out of the side.
The Magpies were in the market for attacking reinforcements over the summer, and whilst Salomon Rondon arrived on loan from West Bromwich Albion, Benitez did actually spend on one forward.
Japanese international Muto – who featured for his country at the World Cup in Russia over the summer – joined from Mainz for £9.5million, as reported by The Guardian.
Muto, 26, hit 10 goals last season and showed promise with the Bundesliga side, before Newcastle snapped him up, and it has been a slow start for him on Tyneside.
Muto did grab his first Newcastle goal in the 3-2 defeat at Manchester United in October, but he hasn’t been seen in a Magpies shirt since the 1-0 home win over Watford last month.
After more than a month without an appearance, some have wondered just where Muto is, but Benitez has now cleared up the situation with his major summer signing.
Benitez has noted that Muto is ‘fit and fine’, and has been back in Japan because he has a new baby, but couldn’t get back into the team when he returned because of Newcastle’s form, and he has now been on the bench in the last two games.
“He’s fit, he’s fine,” said Benitez. “He went to Japan because of the new baby and the injury. He came back and we were winning, so he understands why he hasn’t been playing, but he’s a great worker and he has a chance of playing,” he added before facing Everton.
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