'Very close' - Newcastle United player could start at Blackburn Rovers after 18 games out

Joe Willock is 'very close' to a return to Newcastle United's starting line-up ahead of Tuesday night's trip to Blackburn Rovers (7:45pm kick-off).

Willock came off the bench to score in Newcastle's 4-1 defeat at Arsenal on Saturday evening. It was the midfielder's first appearance in over three months due to an Achilles injury.

Alexander Isak also returned from a groin injury on Saturday after three games out.

And head coach Eddie Howe feels both players have benefitted from the minutes they got on a disappointing evening at the Emirates Stadium.

"To this point they have," Howe said when asked if they got through the game okay. "Delighted with Joe's return, I thought he looked very good when he came on. Scored a very typical Joe Willock goal which was great to see. 

"Alex got 60 good minutes into his legs which will do him the world of good."

When asked if Willock was ready to start at Blackburn, Howe replied: "It's a difficult one, it's something I'll have to discuss at length with the medical team.

"He's very, very close to starting. He's done a lot of work even though we've only seen the 30 minutes he played against Arsenal, he's done a lot of work behind the scenes to get him in this position." 

Willock's last start for Newcastle came in the 2-0 defeat at AFC Bournemouth back in November. The midfielder has started just three games for The Magpies so far this season due to various injury issues.