Newcastle United issue official Joelinton injury update moments after defeat to Aston Villa
Newcastle United 0-2 Aston Villa: Eddie Howe’s side lost at St James’ Park and lost Joelinton to injury.
Newcastle United have yet another injury concern as Joelinton was forced off in Sunday’s 2-0 defeat against Aston Villa at St James’ Park.
Emi Buendia had given Villa the lead in the first half before Joelinton was withdrawn moments into the second. It follows Bruno Guimaraes’ ankle injury picked up against PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday night that ruled him out for the game.
While Newcastle were boosted by the return of Dan Burn and William Osula from extended injury absences, they have been hit with the double blow of losing Guimaraes and Joelinton from their midfield in quick succession.
Ollie Watkins scored late on for Villa to condemn Newcastle to their first Premier League defeat at St James’ Park since September. It was also Villa’s first win away at Newcastle since 2005.
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Eddie Howe on defeat to Aston Villa
Reacting to the defeat, Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe said: "Missed opportunities for us. Sandro [Tonali] has that chance right at the start of the game and if it goes in it's a different game.
“I thought we were better in the second half than the first. There were chances and moments there without our final ball being of the quality that it normally is. A lot of the crossing was poor.
"We had enough time to recover from our last game. It is a season where we are constantly mentally challenged in respect of playing and recovering. Villa had a very similar schedule to us and just executed the final bit better than us.
"They have played very well today and as the away team are probably pleased with how they have conducted the game."
Joelinton injury update
When asked about Joelinton’s injury, Howe added: “He felt his groin. We don't know how serious that is but it was a big blow to lose him when we did.
“Going back to Bruno [Guimaraes] I think we missed his ability to pass forward today. There was certainly an element of our game that got hurt by him not being here.
"He is possibly the focal point for a lot of our build play. We maybe suffered from not having him but we have to be able to play without him as well and hope we don't have to do that for too long."