Newcastle United have a major injury concern ahead of their Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Arsenal.
Eddie Howe’s squad will look a bit different to how it did when Newcastle beat Arsenal 2-0 at the Emirates.
Miguel Almiron and Lloyd Kelly were both involved that night, but have since been sold. On the flip side, Bruno Guimaraes and Fabian Schar are no longer suspended after missing the first leg.
But there could potentially be one more change to the Newcastle United team, as Eddie Howe sweats on the fitness of Joelinton.
No pictures of Joelinton in Newcastle United training
Joelinton injured his knee during the Magpies’ loss to Fulham on Saturday. He looked uncomfortable at multiple stages and was eventually forced off.
Since the game, Joelinton has been spotted wearing a knee brace. That is hardly encouraging ahead of the Magpies’ biggest game of the season.
Now Newcastle United have posted training photos to their official website ahead of the game against Arsenal, and there is no sign of the Brazilian midfielder.
The £40million man has not been spotted in any of the training pictures, which is cause for concern. Of course, it does not necessarily mean he was not there. It merely means that he was not photographed.
However, the lack of Joelinton will result in some worry after what happened to him against Fulham.
Joelinton could be a huge miss against Arsenal
If Joelinton is unavailable, Newcastle have options to replace him. Midfield is the department that Newcastle United are most stacked.
Eddie Howe could choose one of Joe Willock, Sean Longstaff or Lewis Miley to come into the team. They are all viable options to replace Joelinton.
However, given the type of game that could unfold on Wednesday night, Howe will have everything crossed that Joelinton is available.
It could be a blood and thunder match. It could turn into a battle. While the aforementioned trio can succeed in that environment, it is where Joelinton thrives. He can be monstrous in the middle of the park, on a night where St James’ Park will roar on every tackle as if it was a goal.
Joelinton’s status remains up in the air, and it will be interesting to see what Eddie Howe says about him during his pre-match press conference.
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