Newcastle Face Nervous Wait Ahead Of Leeds Clash Despite Recent Injury Boost

Newcastle United face an anxious wait after Eddie Howe provided some concerning injury news ahead of Wednesday’s game against Leeds United.

The Magpies beat Crystal Palace 2-0 on Sunday thanks to second-half goals from Bruno Guimares and Malick Thiaw.

Both strikes came within seven minutes of each other to earn Eddie Howe’s men three vital points at St. James’ Park.

The win lifts Newcastle to ninth in the table and within touching distance of the European places.

They are now just two points below fifth-placed Chelsea, and five away from Liverpool in fourth.

But the weekend’s victory came at a cost, with winger Jacob Murphy hobbling off late on.

The 30-year-old was visibly feeling his hamstring as he limped off in the closing stages, replaced by Joe Willock.

While not thought to be a long-term issue, he is a major doubt for Wednesday.

Newcastle’s recent injury crisis does appear to be ending, but this latest blow could leave them short in midweek.

Newcastle Injury News As Pair Face Late Fitness Tests

Murphy isn’t the only Newcastle star awaiting a late fitness call ahead of their next game.

Fellow winger Anthony Elanga, who joined from Manchester United over the summer, has been missing in recent weeks.

He returned to training last week, but it’s not yet clear if he’s fully shaken off the knock that’s kept him sidelined since facing Chelsea on 20 December.

Discussing Murphy’s fitness, Eddie Howe confirmed he too is touch-and-go to feature against Leeds.

“Jacob was just feeling a bit of awareness in his hamstring, so we need to check him,” Howe said.

Newcastle’s attackers have struggled for form and fitness this season, with reports suggesting they are keen to add reinforcements.

Wolves’ Jorgen Strand-Larsen could be heading to St. James’ Park this January, as the Magpies prepare to reignite their summer interest.

Newcastle Boosted By Returning Trio Of Stars

While Muprhy is a doubt and Elanga may not be ready, Newcastle have seen some positive injury news this week.

Sunday saw three stars return to the match day squad, with fullback Tino Livramento coming off the bench.

And while unused, Sven Botman and Kieran Trippier’s inclusion means they should be involved against Leeds on Wednesday.

Eddie Howe stressed the importance of getting some senior players back ahead of a tough run of games.

He said: “I think it was really important we had those players back for this month.

“Not that you can ever sort of predict that, but we sort of got an eye on the month and you can see how busy it is and not just the games, but the size of the games.”

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Newcastle’s upcoming fixtures include massive Premier League games against Manchester City, Aston Villa and Liverpool.

They also face PSV Eindhoven and Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League this month.

“You want your full artillery ready,” added Howe.

“And I think you can see the importance of it today when we were able to bring on Tino in a moment where I felt we needed his qualities on the pitch.

“And if we needed to turn to Sven and Kieran’s experience, we could do that. Now they’ve had one or two days training, very minimal time back on the training pitch, so we’ve got to be careful with them and manage them correctly.

“But we’ve really, really missed them and I can’t underestimate also the leadership skills that they possess, how much we’ve missed those qualities as well.”

But while Livramento, Botman and Trippier are back, Newcastle remain without long-term absentees Dan Burn, Jamaal Lascelles, Emil Kraft and William Osula.

Wednesday’s game against Leeds kicks off at 20:15 at St. James’ Park.