Newcastle United illness concern revealed after Manchester United defeat - 'we'll see' v Burnley
Newcastle United have Nick Pope available again after he missed a month with a groin issue.
Eddie Howe has a decision to make on who starts in goal for Newcastle United against Burnley on Tuesday evening.
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It’s just over three weeks since the two sides last met, with the Magpies clinching a 2-1 victory at St James’ Park. Bruno Guimaraes and an Anthony Gordon penalty put United 2-0 up before Zian Flemming pulled a goal back with a penalty of his own in stoppage time.
And that was the last time Howe’s side won in the Premier League, losing to both Sunderland and Manchester United 1-0 away from home after drawing 2-2 with Chelsea after surrendering a 2-0 first-half lead.
The defeat against Man United on Boxing Day, coupled with results elsewhere, has seen Newcastle drop to 14th in the table. The Clarets, meanwhile, are 19th, six points from safety.
A key factor behind United’s struggles is their away record, with last month’s 4-1 win at Everton the only success on the road this campaign.
Nick Pope or Aaron Ramsdale - who starts in goal for Newcastle United v Burnley?
The trip to Turf Moor is Newcastle’s second match in four days and while Howe is unable to rotate his defensive line due to the number of injuries, he does have the option to rotate his midfield, attack, and now in goal.
Nick Pope had started every Premier League game for Newcastle this season before picking up a groin injury in training that ruled him out for seven matches. He was back available for the visit to Old Trafford but kept faith with on-loan goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.
And Howe was glad he made that call after revealing Pope had been suffering from illness whilst watching on from the bench. Should the 33-year-old be back to full health in time to face the Clarets, then Howe has a big decision to make.
Pope had come under scrutiny prior to his injury following a series of high profile mistakes against West Ham United, Brentford and Marseille but Ramsdale too has struggled to really impress with a save percentage of 47.37%, compared to Pope’s 75%.
Asked about the decision he faces, Howe said: “Nick had really limited training time for the Manchester United game. He declared himself fit and then was subsequently ill right before kick-off and wasn't feeling great, so probably fortunately he wasn't playing today. But we'll see.
“I'll take a sort of view from the training that I see. Although it's been limited so far, I need to see that Nick's back to his very best and Aaron's played well in his absence, so I'll make a call.”