Eddie Howe rules Newcastle United player out of Carabao Cup tie amid injury concerns
Eddie Howe has spoken about his team selection for Newcastle United’s Carabao Cup tie against Tranmere Rovers – after losing a player to concussion.
Dan Burn was forced off late in yesterday’s pulsating 3-3 draw against Premier League champions Manchester City at St James’s Park with a head injury.
Howe doesn't expect defender Burn to be available for Wednesday night's second-round tie at Prenton Park, and United’s head coach has a number of other injury concerns, including winger Ryan Fraser.
“We’re desperate to do well in the cups – I’ve made that very clear,” said Howe. “But we have to be mindful that we’ve got a very packed schedule.
"I don’t quite know (the team) at this moment in time. We’ll have to see how the injuries are. Obviously, Dan Burn’s got a concussion. I don’t think he’ll play. So we’re going to be forced into changes. How many changes, I don’t know. But we’ll pick a team to try and win the match.”
Fraser was named as a substitute against City after recovering from a back problem, but Howe was unable to bring him on.
“We had a couple of issues in the game,” said Howe. “Ryan Fraser, I couldn’t bring on, because he was feeling his groin in the warm-up. He would’ve been a very important player for us if we were able to use him, but we didn’t have that luxury.”
"Callum was feeling his hamstring at half time, just a tightness, nothing more than that,” said Howe.