Steve Bruce reveals why he didn't name a midfielder on his bench
Shelvey was forced off during this afternoon’s 1-0 defeat to Arsenal at St James’s Park.
Steve Bruce didn’t have a midfielder on his bench to replace him because of concerns over the fitness of Jamaal Lascelles and Paul Dummett, and his team lost their shape after Shelvey’s withdrawal.
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Hide Ad“Jonjo was injured,” said Bruce. “We don’t think it’s too serious, but he was restricted in his movement. We don’t expect it to be too bad. Ki (sung-yueng) wasn’t injured, he just wasn’t part of the squad today.
“Jetro (Willems) could have played in midfield if I’d wanted to do. Matt Ritchie playing there too is something we’ve seen. We had a knock to Dummett, and we had a worry over Lascelles this morning ,because he wasn’t feeling too great. It was important I had two central defenders on the bench. That’s what we were guarding against.”