Eddie Howe will not welcome his Newcastle United players away from Saturday’s Premier League clash with Manchester United.
The Magpies have endured a tough season in terms of fitness issues, with Sean Longstaff and Joe Willock missing matches recently. Both players joined a long list of absentees after missing Tuesday’s 1-1 Champions League draw with Paris Saint-Germain.
Harvey Barnes and Sven Botman have both been out for some time, but “I thought Sean [Longstaff] would ask me if he was coming back this weekend but it’s too early for that,” Howe told Chronicle Live on Friday.
\”We hope to get some players back in the not-too-distant future, but certainly there doesn\’t seem that there is anyone that is right around the corner.\”Callum Wilson picked up a hamstring injury a fortnight ago. The prognosis for Longstaff and Willock is better but Howe does not expect the pair to feature against United on Saturday.
\ “I hope the [Wilque] is not so bad. We thought there was a complete recurrence in 6-8 weeks. \”We hope it won’t be that long, but the problem we have at this point is two to three weeks, which seems like an eternity to us with the number of games we have. So even if it’s is perhaps good news, it remains very frustrating.\”
With no returning players confirmed on Saturday, Newcastle will also be without Jacob Murphy, Dan Burn, Elliot Anderson, Matt Targett and Javier Manquillo through injury. Sandro Tonali will also be unavailable after serving a 10-month ban for breaching the Italian Football Federation’s gambling rules.
But Howe has always managed to get the best out of his available players, as last weekend’s 4-1 thrashing of Chelsea proved. Newcastle won eight of 10 home games this season and the Magpies boss calls on his syats to intensify a massive match against United.
\ “I think these are very good games, \”, he added meetings between the two English giants.
“We respect their team and their manager. They are an exceptional team and I think the matches against bigger clubs are always very difficult and always decided with a good lead.” “In big moments, you’re looking for that big guy that can step up and potentially win the game. I think we’re in that situation, but we know we’ve got to do our best to win.”
