Newcastle United supporters will not be pleased with what has been revealed on Sky Sports as Eddie Howe addresses his options ahead of Friday night’s game.
The Toon boss was speaking in his latest press conference ahead of their Premier League clash against Wolverhampton Wanderers and has claimed his side may be missing a number of players.
Howe revealed there has been an illness bug that has gone around the club’s training ground which has affected a number of his players:
“The illness side of it, there’s obviously something, of course, you’ve got [the virus] as a problem and we have been affected by that in recent weeks. But there seems to be an illness that’s going around which may be not [the virus] that we’ve suffered with,” said the 44-year-old.
Newcastle’s impressive run from January through to the beginning of March has come to an abrupt halt with three consecutive defeats in the league.
And after a thumping on the weekend against Tottenham Hotspur, Friday night offers Howe’s side to return to winning ways in front of their home crowd.
However, with a number of unnamed players potentially set to miss the game through illness, it could make for an even tougher test against Bruno Lage’s side.
Are you worried about NUFC's recent form?
Yes
No
TIF Thoughts on Howe’s comments…
This could certainly be a big concern to the Newcastle fans ahead of their big game against Lage’s men on Friday night with relegation still a possibility.
A win for the Magpies on Friday night would put them in a great position amid the relegation battle as it would open a 10 point gap to 18th-placed Burnley.
However, the Toon will come up against a Wolves side which have been in excellent form this season and fans will be hoping to have a full-strength side available to play against the European-chasing Wanderers.
Anything less than three points on Friday night would allow the sides below Newcastle to close the gap on them and with both Everton and Burnley holding games in hand on the Toon, it could make for a tense end to the season.
In other news: ‘You speak to any player’ – Keith Downie reveals 25 y/o being raved about behind-scenes at NUFC