Eddie Howe confirms 25-year-old will miss crucial game against Brighton

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Eddie Howe has said that Sean Longstaff is making good progress but will miss Newcastle United’s clash against Brighton at St James’ Park tomorrow night.

Speaking at his pre-match media briefing this morning, Eddie Howe confirmed the news that Newcastle fans feared that Sean Longstaff wouldn’t be available for the crunch game against Brighton at St James’ Park under the lights on Thursday.

Sean Longstaff has become a huge part of the Newcastle starting XI and we’ve really missed him in the side since he picked up this foot injury. Eddie Howe said of the academy graduate: “We’re quite clear on the injury, it’s just how long it takes to heal. He made good progress yesterday so let’s see how he feels today. He won’t be involved in this game.”

Longstaff has been integral to Newcastle’s success this season

Longstaff will be a bit miss in the middle of the park again tomorrow night. Newcastle really don’t look the same without him in the side at the moment, like there’s something off with the balance and it’s causing other players to perform below their best.

The most notable casualty is Bruno Guimaraes who has looked off the pace in the last couple of outing. Fortunately for Newcastle, Bruno is so good that an “off day” for him is equivalent to a decent game for most players.

Hopefully Longstaff will return before the season ends

Newcastle still have two more games after Brighton to secure the Champions League for next season and having Sean Longstaff back for one or both of those games could be massive. Even if Newcastle see off Brighton tomorrow qualification isn’t guaranteed.

It would have been crazy to think in August we’d be crossing our fingers for Sean Longstaff to be fit to help us qualify for Europe’s top competition come the end of the season, but here we are. In fact, even a few games into the season we’d never have suspected that as Longstaff took a few games to get up to speed, literally. He looked so sluggish in our opening fixtures, but Eddie Howe has got him playing like a player reborn.