Newcastle United could be without Joelinton for the rest of the season.
There was concern when Joelinton missed training on Wednesday, after the midfielder sat out the win over Ipswich Town due to a knee injury.
It has since been reported that Joelinton’s season could be over, despite the man himself still believing he can feature in the final four games of the campaign.
The Brazilian’s absence gives Eddie Howe a decision to make. He needs to replace a massively important player.
Joe Willock started against Ipswich, but did not produce the most inspiring display.
Howe must now decide whether to stick with Willock and allow him to benefit from a run of games. Alternatively, the Newcastle United manager could turn to Lewis Miley or Sean Longstaff.
How Anthony Gordon could replace Joelinton
There is also a fourth option that Howe must consider – one that would see him change his formation.
Anthony Gordon has not started for the Magpies since the FA Cup defeat to Brighton. A combination of suspension, injury and Harvey Barnes’ form has forced the 24-year-old to sit out, much to his frustration.
Jason Tindall recently said that Gordon needs to be patient, but this Joelinton injury could give Newcastle a chance to get their £45million man back in the starting XI.
There have been various times during his Newcastle United career that Gordon has played centrally. He has had no issues playing as a striker, while we have seen first hand the chemistry he has with Alexander Isak.
With that in mind, Howe has the option of playing Gordon either alongside Isak or just behind him, tweaking his formation to a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-4-2.
It would be an extremely bold decision, at a point in the season when experimentation would be seen as a massive risk.
However, it is certainly an option.
Whether Anthony Gordon is fully fit for Newcastle United
Following Newcastle’s win over Ipswich Town, Howe admitted that Gordon was not completely over the injury that he picked up during the recent England camp.
Howe said: “Anthony, I don’t think is still 100% match fit. This week in training, he’s still aware of some feeling in his knee. So we need to protect him and make sure that when we bring him back into the team that he’s 100% fit.”
However, the attacker did feature fully in Toon training on Wednesday, as he aims to prove his fitness for the final four games of the season.
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