Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe has confirmed that the club have suffered another devastating injury blow.
The Magpies had plenty of injury problems towards the end of 2023, and they are sadly not going away in 2024.
Newcastle take on Manchester City in the Premier League on Saturday, and it had looked like they would be without a key player for the game.
Joelinton was forced off during the win over Sunderland, leading to reports that he was set for a spell on the sidelines. Those reports looked like they would be true when the 27-year-old was not spotted in Toon training.
Now Eddie Howe has provided the news that we were all fearing, and it is actually worse than anticipated.
Eddie Howe admits Joelinton will now miss six weeks due to injury
Ahead of Newcastle’s game against Manchester City, Howe spoke to the media. He provided an update on Joelinton, admitting that the Brazilian is now going to be out of action for at least six weeks.
“It’s an injury that will see him miss a minimum of six weeks,” he said, as reported by the Chronicle.
“It’s a real blow for us as he’s a key player. He’s had a stop-start season unfortunately. He was so consistent last year but he’s had a few different problems.
“This is a big blow and it’s been a stop start season for him. We have nobody immediately coming back but there is nobody like Joelinton. So this is a big one.
“Joey has got a problem with his tendon in his quad. It’s a difficult place to get an injury hence the reason why he’s out. He’s very disappointed and we’ve been trying to pick him up. Joey’s injury is a freak one where he’s standing up and been caught off balance.”
Devastating blow for Newcastle United
So Joelinton will definitely miss Saturday’s game against Manchester City, and he might be out of action until the end of February.
That is a devastating blow, as he is such an important player. He was immense during the first half against Sunderland last weekend, and our midfield was notably weaker when he came off.
Howe has described it as a ‘freak’ injury, which appears to be a reoccurring theme at Newcastle United this season. We have witnessed plenty of unusual injuries, from Harvey Barnes to Elliot Anderson.
Now it is Joelinton, who has had such a mixed season after doing so well last year. When he has played, he has usually been excellent. However, he has had lots of injury issues to contend with.
He has missed five games so far, and that total is only going to increase in the coming weeks.
The news about Joelinton could increase Newcastle’s desire to sign Kalvin Phillips, who has been heavily linked with a loan move to St James’ Park.
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