FA Cup regulations rule Newcastle United man out v Man City after Chelsea appearance

Newcastle United midfielder Joe White is ineligible to feature in Saturday evening's FA Cup quarter-final clash away to Manchester City (kick-off 5:30pm).

The 21-year-old made his second competitive appearance for the Magpies as a substitute during the 3-2 defeat at Chelsea on Monday night. With Harvey Barnes and Kieran Trippier ruled out through injury and Anthony Gordon a doubt with a knee injury, White might have kept his place in the squad for the visit to the Etihad Stadium.

However, that has been taken out of White's hands. As per FA rules, players who have featured in the competition for another club in the same season are automatically cup tied. The midfielder previously featured in the first and second round for Crewe Alexandra against Derby County and Bristol Rovers, respectively.

White made 25 appearances for Crewe during his half-season loan spell where he scored three times and grabbed three assists. He returned to Tyneside midway through January and has impressed head coach Eddie Howe, not just in training but on his debut when he came off the bench in last month's 2-2 draw with AFC Bournemouth at St James' Park.

Speaking about White after that game, Howe said: "To talk a little bit individually about Joe, he's come back from a loan spell and really matured, That loan spell has done him the world of good and he's trained really, really well and I'm very, very pleased with him. He's almost been like a new signing for us. 

"Of course by training well you earn my trust and I thought that was a good moment to put him on the pitch for his Premier League debut and I thought he did really well actually. I'm delighted with him."

Prior to his appearance at Chelsea, White had been left out of the squad for matches versus Arsenal, Blackburn Rovers and Wolverhampton Wanderers with Joe Willock and Elliot Anderson both returning from injury.

But when asked by NewcastleWorld if White will appear more often between now and the end of the season, Howe replied: "Who knows? Joe is training with us every day and he’s working on lots of different aspects of his game, he’s really improving and I’m pleased with him.

"I’ve seen a big improvement, a big step forward after his loan spell and I think it was a really productive time in his career. I’m hopeful this spell with us now will be equally productive and he can be a big part of our future."