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The official reason Joelinton is out for Newcastle United v Ipswich Town
Dominic Scurr
3 – 4 minutes
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Newcastle United have suffered a fresh injury blow ahead of Saturday’s Premier League match against Ipswich Town.
Newcastle welcomed back Sven Botman from injury after almost two months out while Fabian Schar has recovered from a hamstring issue that forced him off in the 4-1 defeat at Aston Villa last weekend.
But after naming the same starting line-up for seven consecutive matches, Newcastle have been forced into a change.
Joelinton trained ahead of the match against Ipswich Town but has withdrawn from the squad due to injury with Joe Willock coming into the starting line-up in his place.
The official reason Joelinton is out for Newcastle United
The match marks Eddie Howe’s return to the dugout following illness. And Newcastle explained Joelinton’s absence in the team news issued on the club website.
“Howe has made one change from the side which suffered a 4-1 away defeat against Aston Villa last weekend as Joe Willock replaces Joelinton, who is missing from today’s encounter with a knee injury,” the website read.
Joelinton also missed the reverse fixture at Ipswich Town back in December due to suspension. Newcastle won the match 4-0 with Alexander Isak scoring a hat-trick and Jacob Murphy finding the net.
The Brazilian’s absence means he avoids a potential second yellow card ban as he can no longer accumulate 15 yellow cards as The Magpies have just four games remaining after Saturday’s clash. Next up for Newcastle is a trip to Brighton & Hove Albion.
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Sven Botman injury latest after training return
Botman has been sidelined for over 11 weeks with a knee injury that initially wasn’t suspected to be serious but ultimately required surgery. The 25-year-old has started just five games for Newcastle this season due to an ACL injury followed by his latest knee issue but reports from the club have been positive in recent weeks.
The defender has returned to training at Newcastle and will be pushing to return to the starting line-up before the end of the season.
But on Friday, Howe stressed that it was ‘still very early stages’ for the defender before including him in the matchday squad.
“Sven’s trained well this week and it’s been great to see him back on the grass,” Howe said. “So, yeah, really, really pleased with how he looked. It’s still very early stages for him, but back training with the group is a big step.”
Newcastle United line-up v Ipswich Town
Newcastle’s confirmed starting line-up v Ipswich Town features just one change with Joelinton coming out in place for Joe Willock while Sven Botman returns on the bench with Matt Targett dropping out of the squad.
NUFC XI v Ipswich: Pope; Trippier, Schar, Burn, Livramento; Tonali, Guimaraes, Willock; Murphy, Barnes, Isak
Subs: Dubravka, Ruddy, Botman, Wilson, Gordon, Krafth, Osula, Longstaff, Miley
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