‘Huge’ Newcastle United star teases injury return v Crystal Palace after ‘confident’ claim

The Brazilian is set to be part of Newcastle’s matchday squad to face Crystal Palace at St James’ Park on Saturday afternoon. It is The Magpies’ first match following the international break and Joelinton’s first back involved since picking up a hamstring injury against Burnley last month.

The 27-year-old lasted less than four minutes after coming off the bench against Burnley before going down with a hamstring issue last month. He has only recently returned from a knee injury in the 1-0 win over Manchester City the game prior.

But Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe admitted he was ‘confident’ that the midfielder would be involved

“I hope so, he’s trained well,” Howe said in his pre-match press conference.

“He’s done a lot of work and I’m confident as I sit here now that he’s going to be okay and can return to the form we know he can produce.

“He’s a huge player for us and we’ve had a few injuries. Not everything is cleared up and we’re not in perfect order but we certainly look a little bit better.”

Joelinton teased his involvement in the Palace match by posting a preview of the game on Instagram along with the ‘raising hands’ emoji.

Newcastle have a couple of injury issues for the game with Alexander Isak and Sven Botman doubts while Joe Willock and Harvey Barnes are ruled out.