Newcastle United confirm Joelinton will miss Atalanta friendly through suspension - but when will he return?

Newcastle United have confirmed that Joelinton will miss Friday evening’s friendly against Atalanta through suspension.

The Brazilian was sent off in the defeat to Benfica last night, forcing Eddie Howe’s men to play the final quarter of an hour with a man down.

The scoreline was level at 2-2 - thanks to a brace from Miguel Almiron - before Benfica made their extra man count via an 89th-minute winner from Henrique Araujo.

With the game only a pre-season friendly, it was presumed Joelinton would be fine to feature as normal this weekend - starting with Atalanta on Friday.

However, United have revealed the 25-year-old is suspended for the visit of the Serie A club.

It’s not total bad news, with Joelinton eligible to play against Athletic Bilbao less than 24 hours later.

Speaking about Joelinton’s dismissal, Howe said: I’m disappointed, to be honest,” Howe admitted when asked about the red card. “For me, in pre-season friendlies, the last thing I want to see is a red card for either team unless there is a tackle that is really out of the spirit of the game. I don’t think Joelinton’s tackles were.

“The second one was late and he acknowledged that and stayed to try and look after the lad.

“It spoiled the last 10-15 minutes but it was a good test for us as well.

“We weren’t quite good enough to see the game out, which is disappointing from our perspective.”