'He's not' - Newcastle United 10-word injury update as 26y/o facing three months out

Eddie Howe has played down speculation that Harvey Barnes is close to returning for Newcastle United as he approaches three months on the sidelines.

Barnes injured his toe during the 8-0 win at Sheffield United back in September and hasn't featured since. The 26-year-old is yet to return to full training for Newcastle as he pushes for a return to action by the end of the year.

Heading into The Magpies' crucial Champions League group stage match against AC Milan on Wednesday evening at St James' Park (8pm kick-off). But Howe has effectively ruled the £38million summer signing from featuring this week.

When asked if Barnes was close to a return, Howe said: “No. Not currently. He’s not one of the closest players.” 

Sven Botman and Joe Willock are closing in on returns along with Barnes though Newcastle are still set to have at least 13 players ruled out for the Milan match. They have recently welcomed back Callum Wilson and Sean Longstaff from injury. But Howe admitted the pair have been rushed back to help ease the pressure on Newcastle's thin squad of available players despite not being '100% fit'.

"They're not 100% fit so I've got to be very careful with them," Howe said. "Thankfully they came through and I thought their performances were really good in the [Tottenham Hotspur] game and that is a big positive in the game." 

When asked if the pair could be ready to start upcoming matches, Howe told The Gazette: "That was a good 30 minutes for them [at Tottenham] but we'll have to take it game by game but it's a difficult one to predict for Wednesday." 

Newcastle's injury situation is such that they 'can't afford' to have any further injuries amid a busy fixture schedule that will see them play 10 times in a month.

"When a player goes you’re fearing the worst," Howe admitted. "Fabian [Schar] went down early in the [Spurs] match. We can’t afford any more injuries to the players we have fit. We need more players back so hopefully that’ll be the case in the next few weeks.  "We will need to assess the squad. We’ve got two players back now which gives the squad a different complexion. And if we get more back again that will add real options to my decision-making in terms of who I play."