Eddie Howe confirms a £39 million contract. Newcastle’s star will almost certainly not play against Manchester City.
Eddie Howe has offered an injury report ahead of Newcastle United’s Carabao Cup match against Manchester City, and it does not bode well for Harvey Barnes.
On Sunday, the summer signing was named to the starting lineup against Sheffield United, but he was pulled off early due to an injury. Barnes appeared upset when he was substituted in the 12th minute by Anthony Gordon, who went on to earn Newcastle’s man of the match.
Barnes’ second start since his £39 million arrival from Leicester City, but it now appears that he will be out of the Toon jersey for some time.
Eddie Howe delivers an update on Harvey Barnes’ injury.
Eddie Howe speaks to the media ahead of Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup match against Manchester City at St James’ Park.
He addressed Harvey Barnes’ fitness and stated that the 25-year-old will not be playing against Pep Guardiola’s team. In fact, he might be out of commission for months.
“It’s an injury to his part of the foot just below the toe, quite a substantial injury,” he told the Shields Gazette.
“He had it scanned, and we’re now waiting for a specialist’s advice on what to do next and whether surgery is necessary.”
“I don’t believe it was a tackle; I believe it was simply pushing off to run.”
“We’re afraid it might be [a while out].” I don’t want to place a time limit on it until we have confirmation from the specialist, but we believe it will be months rather than weeks.”
Newcastle and Barnes have received devastating news.
Barnes has yet to make his impact in a black and white shirt, so this is a terrible blow.
He made an impact on his debut, assisting and scoring against Aston Villa. However, they are his lone goals for his new team.
Now he appears to be destined for a protracted layoff, which is bad news for Newcastle ahead of a hectic summer.
Howe’s team is playing twice a week on average now that the Champions League has begun, so he needs to vary his lineup. Barnes, who has spent most of his time on the bench, will have seen plenty of action as a result.
Barnes has been fighting with Gordon for a spot on the left wing, but Howe may have to seek elsewhere if he wants to keep his team fresh. Fortunately, he has other players who can play on the left.
On Sunday, Elliot Anderson briefly played there, while Jacob Murphy has also been deployed on the left side of the attack. Joelinton, meantime, is close to returning from injury and might be deployed as part of the front three, as he did last season to great effect.
However, this is awful news for Barnes, who appears to be in for a long layoff.
