Newcastle United have already made Anthony Gordon decision ahead of Manchester United clash

The 24-year-old has missed Newcastle’s last four matches in all competitions. Eddie Howe has named an unchanged starting line-up in the four games since Gordon came out of the side, with all four ending in wins.

Gordon missed Newcastle’s 1-0 win at West Ham United, 2-1 Carabao Cup final win over Liverpool and 2-1 win at home to Brentford due to a straight red card picked up in the FA Cup last-16 defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion at St James’ Park last month.

Gordon was able to get some competitive minutes during the international break with England but he suffered an injury to his groin/hip area that has prevented him from training fully back at Newcastle.

After serving his suspension, Gordon was then ruled out of Newcastle’s 3-0 win at Leicester City last time out due to injury. After the game, head coach Eddie Howe claimed that the winger ‘wasn’t close’ to being involved at the King Power but would be assessed ahead of Sunday’s match against Manchester United.

Anthony Gordon ruled out for six weeks

Once Sunday’s match comes around, it will have been six weeks since Gordon last featured for Newcastle.

But with Harvey Barnes coming into the side and doing well in his absence, it’s unlikely that Gordon would come straight back into the side on Sunday.

Newcastle assistant manager Jason Tindall dropped a hint that a decision had already been made around Gordon’s availability.

“He's had a decent week with the physios,” Tindall said during Friday’s pre-match press conference. “He was back out on grass for a pitch session [Thursday]. So we'll assess him again to see how he's responded to that session and then we'll have to make a late call on whether he's available for the bench on Sunday.”

Tindall saying a call will be made whether Gordon is ‘available for the bench’ suggests a decision has already been made that the winger will not be starting with Barnes set to keep his place.

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Eddie Howe praises Harvey Barnes’ impact

Barnes has stood up to the challenge of coming into the side in Gordon’s place in recent weeks, playing a role in Newcastle’s opening goal at Leicester before scoring himself against his former club.

Speaking after the match at the King Power Stadium, Howe told The Gazette: “Yeah, he's done really well Harvey. I think he's got better with games naturally, I think like every player does.

“He's looked confident and it's important he scored tonight because he's a goal scorer and he needs to contribute in that way, being such an attacking player that he is. But also he played his part in the first goal which I loved.

“It was a really good decision. He's built a good relationship up with Tino [Livramento] alongside him so I'm really pleased with that side of the pitch. I thought he defended well as well. That can never be underestimated.

“Wide players have a big responsibility to the defensive ability of the team, and I think he can be really pleased.”

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