Newcastle United are going to have to rotate against Manchester United on Wednesday night, and that could lead to Eddie Howe starting a player who has not done so all season.
The Magpies are struggling for midfield options ahead of their Carabao Cup contest at Old Trafford, as they prepare for a repeat of last season’s final.
Elliot Anderson is out injured until December with a back injury, while Sandro Tonali is suspended until August 2024. On top of that, it appears that Lewis Miley is still suffering with illness and will therefore be unavailable for the game against Man United as well.
That leaves Newcastle with four fully fit centre midfielders for Wednesday’s match, three of which have started the Magpies’ last three games – Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton and Sean Longstaff.
The other is Joe Willock, who has recently returned from a lengthy injury. But the 24-year-old is back now, and has appeared off the bench in Newcastle’s previous two fixtures.
It is excellent to have him back, as he is viewed as a player who can make Howe’s team even better. And now the Toon boss has addressed when we could see Willock back in the starting lineup for the first time since May.
Eddie Howe believes Joe Willock is nearly ready to start for Newcastle
Howe has spoke to the media ahead of Newcastle’s game against Manchester United, and was asked how far away Joe Willock is from starting once again.
“He’s getting closer,” he said.
“The couple of sub appearances have been really good for him, he has done really well. He’s a huge player for us, as I’ve said.
“Joelinton now is beginning to find his rhythm again after his period of time out so there are positives in among a couple of negatives that we have had. You are always going to have that in a season which we are currently facing, where the risk of injury is higher with the amount of games we have.”
Joe Willock could start against Manchester United
The Carabao Cup clash could be the perfect stage to give Willock his first Newcastle start in more than five months.
It will be a bit of a makeshift XI, and is probably Willock’s best chance since returning of proving to Howe that he is ready to have a bigger impact rather than just coming on as a substitute.
On top of that, it will also give Howe the chance to rest one of his regulars. That would be a huge bonus, as Newcastle looked massively tired during Saturday night’s 2-2 draw away to Wolves.
Even if he is only capable of playing an hour, it would be great to see Willock start as he continues to build his match fitness back up.
He is included in our predicted Newcastle starting lineup, and hopefully he is named in the real thing when it is announced at 7.15pm on Wednesday.
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