£35m Newcastle United star set to return v Man Utd as four players ruled out & two doubtful

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Eddie Howe provided a Newcastle United full-back fitness update ahead of Monday’s trip to Manchester United.

Newcastle’s 3-0 win over Aston Villa saw Kieran Trippier start his first match since early October while Matt Targett came off the bench for his first competitive appearance since the trip to Manchester United in the Carabao Cup last November. Targett suffered a hamstring injury in the early stages of that match and has since suffered with an Achilles issue and eczema.

Trippier’s return to the starting line-up and Targett’s introduction off the bench came about after Tino Livramento was ruled out against Aston Villa due to illness.

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When asked if Livramento would be back for the trip to Old Trafford, Howe told The Gazette: “Yeah, fingers crossed.”

On Targett’s return, the Newcastle boss added: “It was [good to see him back] when you see behind the scenes how hard he's worked and conducted himself. He's had injury troubles but he's come back and trained really, really well. He's trained as a left-back but today we knew with Tino's illness we needed him potentially if Kieran couldn't make it all the way through the game so our plan pre-game was to put him on in that position and he never let us down, I thought he was excellent.

“He's got the experience to play on that side despite being very left-footed.”

Trippier was replaced by Targett after 78 minutes, limping off the pitch after taking a slight knock. The 34-year-old will be assessed ahead of the trip to Old Trafford as Howe faces a decision over who to start at right-back in the match.

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“Very strong performance from Kieran,” said the Newcastle boss. “He's been waiting patiently and the little cameo in recent weeks has certainly helped him get his feeling rhythm back.

“A vastly experienced player, I had no doubt today he would do well, the only question mark was how long he would last due to a lack of game time but I thought he did very well. Let's see how he reacts to the game.”

Newcastle head into the game sitting fifth in the Premier League table while Manchester United sit seven points behind them in 14th. Sven Botman is closing in on a return to action for Newcastle after featuring in practice matches and for the Under-21s this month.

Botman has been out for nine months with an ACL injury. Jamaal Lascelles is still recovering from a similar injury while Nick Pope, Emil Krafth and Callum Wilson also remain sidelined.

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