Three weeks after the Turkey international underwent surgery on the knee injury he initially sustained in the home draw with Newcastle Utd back in October, Izzet is still not ready to return to training.
Izzet had been expected to be sidelined for about four weeks following the operation but manager Steve Bruce has revealed that the former Leicester City midfielder is unlikely to begin training this coming week.
Better news on the injury front is that David Dunn is expected to start training again following his latest hamstring strain.
Dunn pulled his hamstring for the umpteenth time in the 2-0 home win against Middlebrough on Boxing Day and following another bout of injections Bruce has confirmed that the influential midfielder is now ready to begin training again this coming week and is targetting the FA Cup tie against Chelsea in a fortnights time as a possible date for his return to the first team fold.