Newcastle United were once again limited by injury in yesterday’s win against Nottingham Forest as Eddie Howe shared yet another issue he had to deal with.
Newcastle were once again without several key players at The City Ground, but even the players who were fit and selected to play weren’t at their physical peak.
In an interview with The Shields Gazette, Howe shared that Jacob Murphy ‘didn’t feel great’ in the warm-up and therefore he chose not bring him on in the game on Saturday.
Howe says Newcastle are still suffering injuries every week
Although they thought they would turn a corner in 2024 after suffering an incredible number of injuries in the first half of the season, Newcastle’s luck doesn’t appear to have changed.
Already this year Newcastle have lost Joelinton and Alexander Isak this year while Elliot Anderson, Joe Willock, Matt Targett and Nick Pope are all looking to make their returns in the coming weeks.
Howe is not only having to manage the team on the pitch but he’s suffering several headaches off of it with what looks to be never-ending list of knocks that he’s had to deal with.
Both Murphy and Callum Wilson look to have suffered something during and before the game against Forest, though it’s still to early to know how serious either of them are.
On Murphy, Howe said: “Jacob Murphy was unusable for us today. He didn’t feel great in the warm-up. So we’re still getting challenges left, right and centre but we’re, at this moment in time, managing to come through those.”
Howe starting to show great in-game management
One big criticism that fans have given Howe during his time at Newcastle has been his poor in-game management which has sometimes cost the team points in big moments.
That’s not to say they’ve been against Howe, but it’s just one of the few weaknesses that he’s shown during his time as Newcastle manager despite the fact he’s been so successful in getting them to the Champions League.
While he’s still got his weaknesses, the change of system in games and his choice of substitutes against the likes of Forest and Aston Villa to secure the result and kill the game off has been much improved.
Looking ahead to their final run of games this season, Howe will truly believe his team can now go on a strong run and push for top four, but this never-ending injury list is certain to still challenge him in the next few months.
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