FA rules have already blocked Newcastle United star from playing vs Manchester United as four players ruled out
Newcastle United turn their attention to Sunday’s Premier League clash against Manchester United at St James’ Park.
Eddie Howe’s side moved back into the Premier League top five on Monday night with a 3-0 win at soon-to-be relegated Leicester City. Jacob Murphy scored a brace inside the opening 11 minutes before Harvey Barnes also got on the scoresheet against his former club.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThe push for Champions League qualification continues against the Red Devils. Ahead of the game, NewcastleWorld takes a look at the early team news.
Anthony Gordon - doubt
Anthony Gordon was not part of the squad for Monday night’s 3-0 victory at Leicester City, despite the end of his three-match suspension. Gordon has been suffering with the bruised thigh he sustained for England in their 2-0 win over Albania just over a fortnight ago.
Eddie Howe described the knock as “really, really bad” when speaking to the media on Friday and the United boss has once again cast doubt over his availability ahead of Man United’s visit to St James’ Park this weekend.
What’s Eddie Howe said?
“Anthony wasn’t close [vs Leicester],” said Howe. “He hasn’t been able to train with us yet. He’s still feeling the effects of that tackle with England. We hope that we may see him soon, but I’ve got no certainty on that.”
Manchester United (H) 13/04
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdJoe Willock - out
Joe Willock took a bang to the head in the 2-1 win over Brentford last Wednesday and was forced to miss the visit to Leicester through concussion protocols.
FA rules state that the earliest return-to-play date for a player must occur 12 days after the initial head injury or seven days if exceptional criteria are met. Newcastle have confirmed the midfielder won’t return against Man United this weekend.
What’s Eddie Howe said?
“Joe Willock's concussion, I don't think he'll make the weekend. We'll need to check on that later, just in terms of what his symptoms were.”
Crystal Palace (H) 16/04
Sven Botman - out
Botman last featured for the Magpies in their 2-0 Carabao Cup semi-final second-leg win over Arsenal two months ago. An initial assessment determined the problem to be minor before four weeks later - after he missed matches against Birmingham City, Manchester City, Nottingham Forest, Liverpool and Brighton & Hove Albion - it was confirmed the Dutchman required surgery.
What’s Eddie Howe said?
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad“Sven's not too bad,” said Howe on Tuesday. “He's had an operation, a very minor operation, just to clean out a bit of floating bone that was in his knee that was causing him the problem.
“I think the initial diagnosis was between six to eight weeks, but I think he's already got through two or three of those. So he's on the road. He's feeling good. Fingers crossed we'll see him probably in May sometime.”
Estimated return date
Brighton & Hove Albion (A) 04/05
Jamaal Lascelles - out
It’s now over a year since Jamaal Lascelles featured for Newcastle because of an ACL injury. He is back in light training but there are doubts over whether he’ll play for the end of the campaign.
What’s Eddie Howe said?
“I don't know whether we'll see Jamaal before the end of the season,” Howe said on Tuesday. I don't really want to set a target on his time to return. I think he has started very light training with the squad, but that would be light, not necessarily in competitive drills, but on the drills that are non-competitive he has joined in and he's looked really good. Small steps for him.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad“We're hoping that he can definitely be joining in and competing in training before the end of the season. Whether that ties in with the team or whether he gets there in time, let's wait and see for competitive action. But he's a big player.”
Estimated return date
2025-26 season
Lewis Hall - out
Lewis Hall will miss the remainder of the 2024-25 season after undergoing surgery on his foot.
What’s Eddie Howe said?
"I'm devastated for him actually because he had so much to look forward to at this moment of the season with the cup final - which will be a big thing for all the players at the moment,” Howe said recently.
"Also the international experience coming up, and he was just in really good form as well and playing very well, so yeah, that's a big blow for him and for us. The most important thing now is his recovery and making sure he comes back as good as he can."
Estimated return date
2025-26 season
Comment Guidelines
National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.