'He could've shown more responsibility' - Alan Shearer calls out Newcastle's Yoane Wissa and insists DR Congo international should SKIP Africa Cup of Nations

Newcastle legend Shearer has called out Wissa for what he believes was a poor error in judgement. The 29-year-old scored in both DR Congo games as they followed up a win over South Sudan with defeat to one of the AFCON favourites Senegal last month.

Wissa was initially pencilled in to return for Saturday's game at Brighton as Newcastle make the tough trip to the south coast. However, reports now suggest that the ex-Bees forward will have to wait a little longer to finally pull on a Magpies strip for the first time.

Shearer has now called on Wissa to show some loyalty to his new employers as the club wait on one of their two summer striker signings to take to the pitch.

"It will be a really difficult decision for Wissa not to go to AFCON because you always want to represent your country," Shearer told Betfair.

"But what I would say is, because of him not training or playing during the summer, he could've shown more responsibility in not playing as much as he did in those two games when he went away on international duty and hadn't played at all.

"But it's really tough to say to someone they can't and won't represent their country when it means so much. And we know AFCON is huge and players want to play in that tournament.

"It'll be a tough ask, but I understand that there'll be a lot of people thinking that he's never played for Newcastle and he needs to show some loyalty towards us.

"I get it and understand that point-of-view because Newcastle shelled out a lot of money on him and he hasn't been able to take to the St James' Park turf as yet. It'd be a really tough decision for him and Newcastle. Whether there's a way around it, I'm not so sure."

While Newcastle had hoped to have Wissa available for selection for Saturday's game at Brighton, Eddie Howe revealed earlier this month that the summer arrival is still a little way off a return to action.

"Yoane saw a specialist again for a check-up on his knee. We probably think now it'll be eight weeks rather than six. No recurrence or problem, just slightly longer," Howe said.

An additional two weeks on the sidelines means Wissa should return to action at the start of November when Newcastle make the trip to West Ham.

DR Congo, meanwhile, get their AFCON campaign underway at the end of December having been drawn alongside Benin, Senegal and Botswana in Group D. The Leopards will hope to have their talisman lead the line in Morocco and in a favourable group, DR Congo should ease to the knockout stages of the competition.

AFCON 2025 kicks off on December 21st and runs all the way to January 18th 2026 and players could miss up to eight Premier League matches if their nation makes it to the final. Newcastle won't be the only team affected by the iconic tournament over the hectic festive period.

Sunderland may have nine players jetting off to Morocco later this year, while Wolves could be without five players and Crystal Palace four. Arsenal, Leeds and Chelsea won't be affected by absent players, while Tottenham and Bournemouth will be able to call upon key pair Mohammed Kudus and Antoine Semenyo, respectively, due to Ghana's failure to qualify for the competition.