Newcastle have welcomed club captain Jamaal Lascelles back to training, after the defender finally recovered from long Covid.
Lascelles was one of a number of players affected by Newcastle's recent squad outbreak, which got so bad that their Premier League fixture against Aston Villa had to be postponed.
Newcastle named Lascelles along with winger Allan Saint-Maximin as two players suffering from long Covid, as the club race to bring their stars back to full fitness amid a busy festive period.
It was confirmed on Thursday that the 27-year-old Lascelles has resumed light training, with photos emerging of him being put through his paces at the club's base.
Lascelles will remain apart from the rest of the squad while brought back closer to match fitness, and is still expected to miss crunch upcoming fixtures against Manchester City and Liverpool.
There is yet no word on when winger Saint-Maximin is to return, despite the Frenchman stating earlier in the week that he feels 'great.'
The 23-year-old made the usual step of speaking to supporters via a live Q&A on his personal Instagram account, in which he addressed speculation of supposed issues between himself and manager Steve Bruce.
Saint-Maximin said he had 'love' and 'respect' for Bruce and added: 'I feel great. I have no problem, nothing. Not injured.'
Fans were left confused by a complete lack of mention of anything Covid-19 related, despite Bruce having days earlier publicly stated that Lascelles and Saint-Maximin were suffering greatly.
Newcastle had confirmed the identity of the ill pair Lascelles and Saint-Maximin after internet rumours of them being involved in a bust-up with Bruce circulated.
Bruce had said: 'My thoughts are with the two players, and the welfare of them. It's frightening when you think they are young and fit and absolutely supreme athletes. If anybody needs reminding of how serious this is, then we have witnessed it.
'We've had vomiting, sores, mouth ulcers, no smell, no taste, but the big thing, and which is worrying, is the welfare of one or two of them. It's not great at all.
'That long-term Covid is something which you wouldn't think possible in young, fit athletes. Unfortunately, it is so.
'They go for a walk for half an hour and then they want to go back to bed.. It's as brutal as that.'
Lascelles was at St James' Park to watch the recent 1-1 draw with Fulham but he, like Saint-Maximin, missed Tuesday night's EFL Cup quarter-final at Brentford which saw Newcastle eliminated from the competition.