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FA rules will block Newcastle United star from featuring against Manchester United
Dominic Scurr
4 – 5 minutes
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Newcastle United have been dealt a fresh injury blow ahead of Sunday’s Premier League match against Manchester United (4:30pm kick-off).
Newcastle will be without Sven Botman (knee), Jamaal Lascelles (knee) and Lewis Hall (foot) due to injury while Anthony Gordon (groin) remains a doubt for the weekend’s match at St James’ Park.
Joe Willock has also been ruled out of the match due to concussion. The midfielder picked up a head injury in the closing stages of Newcastle’s match against Brentford last week and missed the subsequent Premier League trip to Leicester City.
Newcastle won the match 3-0 at the King Power Stadium and return to St James’ Park looking to make it five wins in a row in all competitions when they face Manchester United. After winning four out of 40 games against Manchester United between 2001 and 2023, The Magpies have won four of their last five matches against The Red Devils in all competitions since.
Joe Willock ruled out for NUFC v Manchester United
When asked if Willock would be available for Sunday’s match against Manchester United, head coach Eddie Howe responded: “Joe Willock’s concussion, I don’t think he’ll make the weekend. We’ll need to check on that later, just in terms of what his symptoms were.”
Concussion protocols in the Premier League have ruled Willock out for Sunday’s game, as Newcastle later confirmed. FA rules states that the earliest return to play date for a player must occur 12 days after the initial head injury or seven days if exceptional criteria are met.
Willock has not met the exceptional criteria and will, therefore, be unable to feature in the Manchester United match. He will be assessed further ahead of the match against Crystal Palace on April 16 (7:30pm kick-off) at St James’ Park.
Newcastle United get through Leicester City win unscathed
Alexander Isak cut a frustrated figure as he was withdrawn midway through the second half at Leicester City on Monday night. Although it was not an injury-related substitution, there had been concerns over the striker’s fitness due to a minor groin issue.
But Howe is expecting Newcastle’s top scorer to be available to face Manchester United on Sunday.
Howe said: “I think he’s 100% fit, I wouldn’t have taken any risk with him tonight if he wasn’t. I don’t think we’ll have to manage him.”
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Anthony Gordon concern remains after NUFC suspension lifted
After serving a three-match suspension, Gordon would have been back available for Newcastle had he not been injured.
The 23-year-old winger is still yet to return to full training after picking up a knock to his groin during international duty with England last month.
Speaking after Monday night’s match, Howe said: “No, he wasn’t close [to playing]. He hasn’t trained with us yet.
“He’s still feeling the effects of that tackle with England. We hope that we may see him soon but I’ve got no certainty on that.”
Gordon has now missed the last four matches since his red card against Brighton & Hove Albion in the FA Cup over a month ago. Newcastle have won all four with Harvey Barnes coming into the side in his place.
Barnes scored in Newcastle’s 3-0 win over Leicester after a Jacob Murphy brace gave the visitors an early two-goal lead at the King Power Stadium.
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