Newcastle United injury concern v Liverpool as £40m star missing from training gallery

Eddie Howe and his Newcastle United players have been back on the training pitch this week as they prepare for Sunday afternoon’s Premier League clash against Liverpool at St James’ Park (kick-off 4:30pm).

After beating Aston Villa 5-1 on the opening day of the campaign, the Magpies tasted their first defeat of 2023-24 on Saturday night - losing 1-0 at Premier League champions Manchester City following Julian Alvarez’s 28th minute strike.

As well as ending up empty-handed, Howe also left the Etihad Stadium with concerns about Joelinton’s status. The Brazilian limped off on the hour-mark and was replaced by Sean Longstaff.

Asked about Joelinton’s injury after the game, Howe replied: “No, no news. I know what you know. He didn’t move well when he came off the pitch. Fingers crossed he’s OK. “

In the training gallery released by Newcastle this afternoon (Tuesday), the 27-year-old was among the players not pictured, raising fears that he could miss the visit of Jurgen Klopp’s side.

That said, his absence from the photos doesn’t necessarily rule him out this weekend. For example, Kieran Trippier and Callum Wilson also aren’t spotted, even though they are understood to be fit. Howe’s players have another three days of training before taking on Liverpool.

However, three that are expected to miss the Reds clash are Joe Willock (hamstring), Emil Krafth (ACL) and Javier Manquillo (groin).

Willock hasn’t featured since the penultimate match of last season - a 4-1 win over Brighton and Hove Albion - due to a hamstring injury. Krafth, meanwhile, is approaching 12 months on the sidelines after sustaining an ACL injury.

Howe hopes the Swede will resume training in the next four weeks but no timescale has been given on Manquillo’s return,

Manquillo’s first-team involvement is likely to be limited this season anyway. Left-back Lewis Hall, who joined from Chelsea earlier this week, was captured training with his new teammates.