'The nearest ballboy'- Newcastle United owner responds to fan injury crisis joke tweet

With the news Joelinton could miss the rest of the season due to a quad problem, Newcastle United's injury crisis doesn't seem to be easing up any time soon.

Speaking ahead of the 3-2 defeat to Manchester City, United boss Eddie Howe said Joelinton would be sidelined for a minimum of six weeks. But according to ESPN Brazil, he might not play again this campaign.

The 27-year-old joins eight other United players on the sidelines which hasn't instilled much faith in fans. Injuries have characterised much of Newcastle's season and with the news they might not be easing up any time soon some supporters have decided to take the crisis into their own hands.

One supporter, in fact, has picked Eddie Howe's starting XI for him. Taking to social media, they shared a glimpse of what the rest of the season will look like for the Toon, writing: 'With Joelinton being the latest name to be ruled out for Newcastle, I fully expect our last line-up of the campaign to look something like this:'

Hilariously it features co-owners Amanda Staveley, Mehrdad Ghodoussi, the nearest ballboy and relies on Alan Shearer and Eddie Howe coming out of retirement to help out the team.

With Jason Tindall confirmed as interim manager while Howe gets his hands dirty on the pitch, there was just one omission from the line-up.

Co-owner Jamie Reuben jokingly replied to the tweet asking: 'Did I even make the bench?'

Hopefully things won't come to this. And with Callum Wilson, Jacob Murphy and Joe Willock expected to return before the end of the month, Newcastle United could be back on track.

Eddie Howe's side will take on Fulham in the FA Cup on 27 January before travelling to Aston Villa in the Premier League on the 30 January.