Newcastle midfielder Joelinton has been ruled out for a minimum of six weeks due to a tendon injury in his quad.
The Brazil international limped out of last Saturday’s 3-0 FA Cup win at derby rivals Sunderland and could be out until early March.
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Speaking ahead of tomorrow’s visit of champions Manchester City to St James’ Park, head coach Eddie Howe said: “The prospects over the next couple of weeks aren’t good. It’s an injury that will see him miss a minimum of six weeks.
“It’s a real blow for us as he’s a key player. He’s had a stop-start season unfortunately. He was so consistent last year but he’s had a few different problems [this year].”
Newcastle were starting to get most of their injured players back and Howe admits this is a major blow for his ninth-placed side.
“There is nobody like Joelinton, so this is a big one,” he added.
“Joey has got a problem with his tendon in his quad. It’s a difficult place to get an injury hence the reason why he’s out. He’s very disappointed and we’ve been trying to pick him up.
“Joey’s injury is a freak one where he’s standing up and been caught off balance.”
Eddie Howe on Joelinton:
“It isn’t good, it is an injury that will see him miss a minimum of six weeks, it is a real blow for us. He is such an important player. He has a problem with his tendon in his quad. He is very disappointed, he wants to play and do well – we have had to… pic.twitter.com/Lx1hYdpYrD
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) January 12, 2024
Newcastle were this week linked with Bournemouth striker Dominic Solanke but Howe says a player of that calibre is out of their reach financially.
He said: “A frustrating story for me because, yes I love Dominic Solanke, I signed him and I rate him very, very highly. But we have not made an enquiry for him and we don’t have the ability to sign a player of that level.”
Newcastle’s latest financial results, released yesterday, revealed a £73.4 annual loss with CEO Darren Eales stating the Magpies, who have spent approximately £450million since being taken over by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, may have to sell before they can buy to comply with the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability rules.
“We discuss things on a regular basis so there’s no surprise to me,” said Howe
“We’ve been working on Financial Fair Play for a long time. I don’t know if he said a star player. Selling players is part of every club’s DNA these days. I think it has to be with FFP. We have to generate more income and to sign players, we may have to sell players. It will be something we do for the foreseeable future.”
