Eddie Howe hopes to get several key players back for Newcastle United following the international break.
Newcastle United drew 2-2 at West Ham United on Sunday, despite the absence of several important players. Injury ruled out Joelinton, Joe Willock, and Sven Botman, while Anthony Gordon was suspended for the game.
Following an early Tomas Soucek goal, the Magpies rallied to take a 2-1 lead thanks to an Alexander Isak brace. Mohammed Kudus then equalized for The Hammers in the 89th minute at the London Stadium.
Newcastle has won five games and drawn two in the last three weeks, including a 4-1 Champions League success over Paris Saint-Germain and an 8-0 win at Sheffield United, the club’s joint-largest victory in the Premier League.
Despite the late goal conceded, Howe saw the draw at West Ham as a ‘good’ result in light of the Magpies’ recent record and the absence of a number of key players.
“We’re missing some big players and that makes the result all the more positive for us,” he remarked. “When you’re stretched, you need the depth of your squad and we’ve shown that, the players that have come in have been brilliant for us.”
Newcastle welcomed back Callum Wilson from injury in the encounter, with the striker coming off the bench in the final minutes. Joelinton was a doubt for the encounter, according to Howe, but he was close to returning from a hamstring injury.
Following the game, The Magpies manager noted that the Brazilian is yet to return to training but that he wants to have him back after the international break against Crystal Palace.
“He wasn’t even close,” Howe told The Gazette. “He hasn’t trained with us yet, but he should be back for the next game.”
“For a long time, we’ve missed Joelinton, and we’ve definitely missed Joe Willock.” Sven [Botman], Anthony [Gordon], these players can make a difference in a close game like that, especially when we’re tired at 2-1.
“So that’s obviously that’s something we have to look at and hopefully we’ll have those players back in the next two weeks.”
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