Eddie Howe has issued an update on Joelinton’s injury, describing his withdrawal at Sunderland the “big negative” from an otherwise brilliant day at the Stadium of Light.
The Brazilian “felt his thigh” while switching the play just moments before the half-time break. He continued and came out for the second half, but soon signalled to be substituted straight after Alexander Isak made it 2-0.
Speaking to the press after the match, Howe had this to say when discussing his withdrawal:
“The big negative today is Joelinton. We don’t know what that injury looks like, but we did have some training time and we had a chance to get the players in a much better physical position for this match.
“It looks like as he was switching the play, he felt his thigh, so we’ll wait and see.”
With Man City to come next weekend and a trip to Aston Villa at the end of January, we’ll have to hope the big man is OK and able to recover.
I’d be shocked if he’s fine for Saturday, meaning we could be forced to start Bruno, Longstaff and Miley against the Champions, but we are over three weeks away from our next game after that, giving him every chance of making Villa away; providing it’s nothing serious.
When Joelinton is at his best, Newcastle tend to be. His physicality and drive – on and off the ball – played a key role in that dominant first half at Sunderland. Let’s hope the scan results show no significant damage.
