Journalist Craig Hope has claimed that Newcastle United winger Allan Saint-Maximin could be back in the team next week amid his current injury issues.

What's the latest injury news for Newcastle and Allan Saint-Maximin?

The 26-year-old Frenchman has been out with a hamstring injury recently, which has caused him to miss the Magpies' last two games in the Premier League.

And while looking to get himself fit once more, the player has actually been overseas in France – something which manager Eddie Howe spoke about ahead of this weekend's clash with Aston Villa.

Indeed, the manager told the press: "I'm comfortable with it and always have been. I'm a firm believer you don't have to be in Newcastle to get the best treatment. It's always about helping the player come back in the best condition."

On the player's actual fitness status, he added: "We don't think it's a serious injury, but he's away getting treatment at the moment. He's not with us. Hopefully, at some stage next week, he will come back and be available very soon."

While talking about this on his own YouTube channel, Daily Mail reporter Hope relayed this information but was able to add when exactly fans can expect to see Saint-Maximin on the pitch again.

He said: "We're told it's not serious, he'll return to Tyneside next week.

"My understanding is that there's a likelihood that he'll be on the bench for the Spurs game on the Sunday.

"So good news, if not great news on Saint-Maximin, bearing in mind just when he seemed to be finding a little bit of form again, he goes and breaks down, and part of the problem with Saint-Maximin is we'll always have this."

Has Saint-Maximin been in good form?

Seeing as the £70k-per-week star had just been coming into fine form, it's been a blow to lose the winger in recent weeks. Indeed at the start of the month, after a 2-0 win over Manchester United, Howe praised Saint-Maximin for his efforts.

He told The Northern Echo: “I thought his performance was very good. He deserved to keep his place, in my opinion.

“He’d been struggling with a hamstring injury – during the Wolves and Nottingham Forest games I didn’t think he was at his physical best. But in the way that he’d trained during the week, I thought he deserved to start, and he continued his work from the training pitch on the pitch today.

“He released the ball well, and I thought he made really good, intelligent decisions. He played very well and is [in] a good place mentally.”

With that being the case, if Saint-Maximin can get himself fit and ready to play against Tottenham Hotspur, it could be a big boost as the two teams go head-to-head as they each look to secure finishes in the top four and land a Champions League spot next season.

And amid the Toon's defeat at Villa Park, three points will arguably be even more valuable next weekend as the games start to run out.