Eddie Howe explains absence from Newcastle United's bench

The winger wasn’t involved in the club’s goalless draws against Arsenal and Leeds United, and Howe was asked about his absence ahead of this afternoon’s FA Cup tie against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough.

“Ryan is training, and trying to win his place back into the squad,” said United’s head coach. "He’s training very well. Ryan’s working hard. We have competition for places. We don’t have a deep squad in terms of numbers, but I think the quality we have is very high."

Fraser, under contract at United until 2025, previously played for Howe at Bournemouth.

The 28-year-old joined Newcastle as a free agent in the summer of 2020 following Bournemouth’s relegation. Fraser had refused to sign a short-term contract extension allowing him to play during the Premier League’s Project Restart early in the Covid-19 pandemic.