Newcastle United dealt new six-week injury blow after 'freak' incident

Newcastle United will be without Joelinton for a minimum of six weeks after the Brazilian picked up a quad injury during the Tyne-Wear derby win against Sunderland.

Joelinton played a key role in giving the Magpies the lead at the Stadium of Light after his cross was turned into his own net by Dan Ballard. Shortly after Alexander Isak made it 2-0, the midfielder was withdrawn.

And United boss Eddie Howe has confirmed the 27-year-old will be sidelined until late February.

"The prospects over the next couple of weeks aren’t good," Howe admitted. "It’s an injury that will see him certainly miss probably a minimum of six weeks. It’s a real blow for us because he's such an important player.

"He's had a very stop-start season unfortunately this year where he was so consistent last year. He's had a few different problems and this is a big blow.

"We have no one immediately coming back for us but no one like Joelinton. You're never going to get a like-for-like replacement, he is our midfield driving force physically. We've got no one like him."

Asked about the nature of the injury, Howe explained: “He’s got a problem with his tendon in his quad. Without going too detailed, it's a very difficult place to get an injury, hence the timescale he’s going to be out.

"He's very disappointed. He wants to play and do well so we've had to do a job and try to pick Joe up.

"We haven't wanted to focus on the injury situation because it's really only negative and there's not much good to be had from talking about it.

"Joey's injury is another freak injury one where he's off-balance trying to switch play. He gets pushed in the back, his leg goes to an awkward angle and ends up with an injury.

"Unfortunately for us any injury we've picked up this year hasn't been a one or two week injury, it's been six to eight weeks at a time where we can't afford it.

"We're really stretched in the attacking and midfield areas, and we have been for a long time. It's inhibited our ability to rest players and also change the flow of games by bringing players on who can make a difference. It's been difficult."

Newcastle, without 10 senior players, welcome Premier League champions Manchester City to St James' Park on Saturday evening (kick-off 5:30pm) as they look to end a run of three straight league defeats.