Newcastle United injuries: Eddie Howe has reacted to Tino Livramento’s return to fitness as several key players remain out v Barcelona.
Newcastle United have been handed a ‘huge’ injury boost ahead of Tuesday night’s Champions League last-16 first leg against Barcelona at St James’ Park (8pm kick-off).
Head coach Eddie Howe has described the match as ‘the biggest in the club’s history’ as they look to secure progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time.
The Magpies then travel to Barcelona for the second leg at Camp Nou next Wednesday (5:45pm kick-off).
The two sides have already faced one another in their opening Champions League fixture this season as Barcelona claimed a 2-1 win following a second-half Marcus Rashford brace at St James’ Park. Anthony Gordon added a late consolation with his first of 10 Champions League goals this season.
Barcelona have some high-profile injuries to Frenkie de Jong, Andreas Christensen, Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde. Midfielder Gavi has travelled with the squad to Newcastle but has been out since August with a knee injury.
Meanwhile, Newcastle will be without captain Bruno Guimaraes, Lewis Miley, Fabian Schar and Emil Krafth due to injury. Anthony Gordon and Jacob Murphy have also been nursing respective ankle and neck issues but were named on the bench on Saturday.
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Tino Livramento boost
But Howe’s side have been boosted by the return of Tino Livramento after two months out with a hamstring injury. The 23-year-old right-back came off the bench in the closing stages of Newcastle’s 3-1 FA Cup defeat to Manchester City on Saturday to make his 100th appearance for the club and is in contention to be involved for Tuesday’s crucial Champions League match.
On Livramento’s return, Howe said: “He's huge, we've really missed him. His versatility, his athleticism.
“He's a massive player for us so great to have him back and some valuable minutes. He hasn't done a lot of training, so we needed to protect him [against Manchester City].”
But Howe also explained that he would have no concerns about Livramento’s fitness levels should he be used from the start.
“He’s done a lot of work so there’s no question about his cardiovascular fitness,” Howe told The Gazette. “He’s been running for a long time so he’s got a lot of work behind him. It’s just that training time and involvement with us.
“But he’s been with all our coaches and done enough and he’s looked really good, so I think he’s there or thereabouts.”
The Magpies will also be boosted by the return of Jacob Ramsey after he missed the City match due to suspension.
Eddie Howe on Barcelona
Following Newcastle’s FA Cup exit, Howe quickly turned his attention to the Barca match.
“As much as it's easy to be very negative in this moment and I understand we've gone out of the FA Cup but we have the biggest game in the club's history coming up in no time at all,” Howe explained. “We've got to get the players ready for that, we've got no time to dwell on this.”
The winners of the last-16 tie will face the winners of Atletico Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur in the quarter-final of the competition.
Barcelona reached the semi-final of the Champions League last season and have won the competition five times previously, the last in 2015.
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