Eddie Howe reveals why he left Joelinton out of his Newcastle United starting XI

Joelinton was surprisingly left on the bench for this afternoon’s convincing 4-1 win over Fulham at Craven Cottage.

And Howe has explained his team selection for the game, which was decided by two strikes from Miguel Almiron and goals from Callum Wilson and Sean Longstaff.

“Joelinton picked up a knee injury against Bournemouth (before the international break), and hadn’t trained,” said United’s head coach. “He wanted to be involved, the type of character that he is.

"I wanted to protect him, knowing how important he is. He was there if we needed him in an absolute emergency, and my hand was forced with him. Hopefully, a week’s training will make a difference for him, and he’ll be back next week, and available for selection.”

The result saw Newcastle end a run of six games without a Premier League win – and climb up to seventh place.

Howe told BBC Sport: "It’s been a long time coming. We’ve had a long wait for the second win of the season.

"Right from the start, we had a good feeling, with good energy, and created chances early on. Obviously, the red card made it easier, but I’m very pleased with the players' response. We wanted more, we weren't happy with what we had, always trying to score.

"It's been a very difficult two weeks. Obviously, we have had the international break with players going away, but we’ve also had a bit of illness in the camp, but it didn't show in our performance."