Jamaal Lascelles was in the squad against Chelsea
Newcastle United club captain Jamaal Lascelles played his first game in more than a year after appearing for the Under-21s in a friendly against Celtic FC B on Tuesday afternoon.
The 31-year-old centre-back made his long-awaited comeback after 13 months on the sidelines. Lascelles played the first 45 minutes for United's second-string at the training ground as the two sides drew 1-1.
Lascelles had featured on the bench in Sunday's Premier League clash with Chelsea at St James' Park, with Eddie Howe's squad ravaged by injuries. And with Sven Botman picking up another knee problem, Lascelles could feature again at Arsenal this weekend. The long-serving defender has been out since March 2024 when he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
Lascelles went close to opening the scoring for United on two occasions in the opening minutes of the behind-closed-doors encounter, heading wide from Leo Shahar's free-kick before his powerful header from Shahar's corner towards the back post shortly after was held by the Celtic goalkeeper.
Newcastle opened the scoring in the 19th minute through Sean Neave, another player on the bench for the first team on Sunday. Neave, who was also an unused substitute in the Carabao Cup final win against Liverpool in March, steered home the rebound after Alfie Harrison's shot was saved.
Lascelles was replaced at half-time as Newcastle made nine changes. Garang Kuol, Ben Parkinson and Kyle Fitzgerald were introduced and Kuol immediately went close to a second goal.
Celtic grabbed an equaliser in the closing stages before Parkinson, who made his Premier League debut away at AFC Bournemouth last season, saw a stinging drive inside the penalty area blocked by the Celtic goalkeeper.
Trevan Sanusi, who has also been struggling with injury since making his first team debut as a sub in the FA Cup tie against Bromley, continued his comeback with 45 minutes.
Newcastle United Under-21s (first-half): Adam Harrison, Leo Shahar, Jamaal Lascelles, Cathal Heffernan, Dylan Charlton, Rory Finneran, Anthony Munda, Alfie Harrison, Johnny Emerson, Trevan Sanusi, Sean Neave.
Newcastle United Under-21s (second-half): Adam Harrison, Rory Powell, Harry Powell, Ciaran Thompson, Dylan Charlton, Scott Bailey, Jay Turner-Cooke, Baran Yildiz, Kyle Fitzgerald, Garang Kuol, Ben Parkinson.