Newcastle United are waiting to find out whether or not Joe Willock will be fit to face West Ham United on Wednesday night.
The Magpies travel to London on the back of a huge win against Manchester United, with Willock opening the scoring at St James’ Park.
He played a crucial role in the victory, but it was not a perfect afternoon for the 23-year-old midfielder. He missed a couple of glorious chances in the first half, one of which left Alexander Isak and Allan Saint-Maximin in complete shock.
Willock’s afternoon was then ended early, as he limped off in the 84th minute to be replaced by Elliot Anderson.
Eddie Howe shares Joe Willock fitness update
After the game, Toon boss Eddie Howe spoke to Newcastle World about any fresh injury problems ahead of the midweek game against West Ham.
“Joe Willock is the obvious one,” he said.
“He was feeling his hamstring, but he wasn’t sure if it was cramp or something more sinister. So we’ll wait and see.”
Newcastle have options if Willock is injured
Hopefully it was just cramp rather than a muscle problem. That would be a major blow given how well he played on Sunday. Willock is performing brilliantly at the moment, and should be edging closer to his first ever England callup.
Another strong showing against West Ham will only strengthen his case, but Howe is blessed with options if he is unable to select the former Arsenal midfielder.
Joelinton is the obvious choice. He started on the bench against Man United, but Howe will be desperate to find a place for him back in the starting XI. Alternatively, Anderson could also come in.
Even if Willock is not injured, it might be wise for Howe to rotate his side. This is a crucial period of the season where rotation could play a huge part.
Luckily Howe has the option to do that, and he will now be debating whether he should rest Willock ahead of Brentford on Saturday.
Even if it was just cramp, this could hand Joelinton a route back into the starting XI.
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