Rafa Benitez gives injury update on Jonjo Shelvey, Jamaal Lascelles and Yoshinori Muto after Newcastle's first win

Rafa Benitez is sweating on the fitness of three players after Newcastle United's first win of the season.
Jonjo Shelvey.Jonjo Shelvey.
Jonjo Shelvey.

Jamaal Lascelles, Jonjo Shelvey and Yoshinori Muto were all forced off against Watford at St James's Park this afternoon.

A second-half goal from Ayoze Perez gave Newcastle a 1-0 win and lifted the club out of the Premier League's relegation zone.

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Asked about the injuries, manager Benitez said: “There are a couple of problems. Shelvey and Muto have muscular problems, so we will have to see what's going on.

"Jamaal had a little problem with his shoulder in training a couple of days ago, but we'll have to wait a little bit to see how he is.

“Muto was his calf, but it’s still too early to know what he has."

The result doubled United's points tally and took them above Cardiff City.

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Reflecting on the victory, Benitez said: “It was a pity that after so many games doing well, and being so close to getting three points, we couldn’t do it.

"Today, in a difficult game against a good team, you could see everybody was trying their best and the connection between the fans and the players was there.

"Everybody was pushing in the same direction. That was a big difference. We were playing a good team – they had some chances, and so did we.

"It was a good game in terms of emotion for the people who were watching."