Jacob Murphy had to laugh after his rather short outing in Newcastle United’s Premier League opener against Southampton.
Eddie Howe named Jacob Murphy in his starting XI on Saturday, which came as no surprise after the 29-year-old’s incredible performances in pre-season.
Murphy was outstanding for Newcastle United over the summer, scoring five goals and earning his place in the team on the opening day.
However, he was quickly withdrawn through no fault of his own.
Red card forces Jacob Murphy to be substituted
When Fabian Schar was handed a soft red card in the 28th minute, Eddie Howe had to make a change. He needed to get another centre-back on the pitch, which resulted in Murphy being sacrificed.
Emil Krafth came on for Murphy and joined Dan Burn at the heart of defence, while Newcastle shifted to a 4-3-2 formation as they dug out an impressive 1-0 win.
It was a shame for Murphy, who did not even last half an hour. He did not have the chance to take his pre-season momentum into the opening game of the season.
Murphy jokes with Callum Wilson after Newcastle United win
But Murphy is a team player, and there will be no sulking from him after Howe was forced to take him off.
In fact, Murphy was already making a joke about his early substitution immediately after the full time whistle.
The club have released their match cam footage to their official YouTube channel from the win over Southampton, and it showed Murphy and Callum Wilson sharing a laugh as the players headed into the dressing room after a hard fought victory.
Murphy: “20 minutes, job done!”
Wilson: “It’s more minutes than I’ve had, Murph! Don’t worry.”
Anthony Gordon and Dan Burn were behind Murphy, and could not contain their laughter as they celebrated the 1-0 win.
When Callum Wilson will return for Newcastle
It was good to see Wilson in attendance, supporting his teammates despite being out of action with a back injury.
It will hopefully not be too long before we see the 32-year-old in action, with Howe stating that Wilson will only miss Newcastle’s first few games.
If that is the case, it will not be long until Wilson is getting the minutes he is craving. It will have been a frustrating summer for the number nine, picking up a back injury before Newcastle’s first pre-season friendly.
He will now be playing catch up after a spell on the sidelines, but it does look like Wilson could now stay at Newcastle.
That is despite him being heavily linked with a move away from St James’ Park earlier in this summer’s transfer window.
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