Callum Wilson says being unable to train and play for Newcastle United due to a calf injury is “frustrating” but the Magpies’ trip to Dubai has allowed the squad the opportunity to bond. Wilson has struggled for form this season due to a series of injuries impacting his playing time. A hamstring injury earlier in the year saw him miss four matches, and the 30-year-old is back in the treatment room due to a calf injury which has kept him sidelined since January.
Callum Wilson said: “This is a place where you can work hard but also get some sunshine as well. It’s a change in scenery. Whilst the weather in England is hit and miss, i think [Dubai] is a good place to be. If anything [being injured] is frustrating. I want to be playing, training and doing all the things a footballer does. I don’t want to be stuck inside in a gym when everyone is outside having fun. I want to be scoring goals. It seems good from the outside, but when you are actually in it then it’s not as good as it seems.”
Wilson was speaking on the BBC podcast alongside West Ham striker Michail Antonio. Asked by the Hammers’ man what the Magpies are getting up to in Dubai,
Callum Wilson said: “We’ve been going out as a team, getting meals together, spending time around the pool together. You see the lads in a different environment and it’s a different side of them and their personalities. They’re such a good group of lads. I’m probably not the only one to say it, but they are actually a really good group of guys. When you actually get them away from the football environment and around the pool instead, you do see a different side of them. When you are in a club environment day-to-day, some lads will be in the gym or at dinner or getting treatment. Everyone is doing different things so you are very rarely in the same place at the same time believe it or not. Out here when everyone is just around the pool, you do see their different characters. You do see the coaches around the place when at the pool or walking around the resort, but it’s more of just a group of lads, a squad, that is together. The staff then go together. Similar to how we are as a team and as the players, the staff are probably the same. Whether you are the manager, the coaches, the masseurs, the analysts, whoever. They get to see their team in a different light as well so I presume they are finding things out about each other that they may not usually see because of normally being in a professional environment. When the manager is in a relaxed environment everyone else starts to relax and come out their shell more which is all nice. Ultimately everyone has a personality, you just have to get the best out of it and try to experience it when in a different setting.”
