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.

“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.”