Newcastle United latest news: Eddie Howe has received a major boost ahead of his side’s clash against Barcelona at the Camp Nou.
Newcastle United have received a major boost ahead of their trip to face Barcelona in the second-leg of their Champions League Round of 16 meeting.
The Magpies head to Spain level with their hosts following a 1-1 draw at St James’ Park last week. Only a stoppage time Lamine Yamal penalty prevented Eddie Howe’s side from heading to Barcelona with a deserved lead following Harvey Barnes’ strike just a few minutes prior.
Newcastle United know they will have to pull off the impossible on Wednesday night at the Camp Nou if they want to progress, but just over a year on from their triumph in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley, they will believe that anything is possible this week. Winning at Stamford Bridge for the first time since 2012 was the perfect preparation for this game - and news on Tuesday has also significantly boosted their hopes of securing a famous result in Catalonia.
Newcastle United receive injury boost v Barcelona
As the Magpies touched down in Spain ahead of their second-leg clash with Barcelona, it was revealed that Eddie Howe would have Sandro Tonali back available for selection on Wednesday night. The Italian international missed their win over Chelsea through illness and was regarded as a doubt to feature in Spain.
"We’ll have a look at him today,” Howe said about the Italian on Tuesday. “Today is the first day we’ve seen him. We’ll make a decision tomorrow."
Tonali’s importance in Howe’s starting XI has grown significantly in recent times due to the injury suffered by Bruno Guimaraes. The Brazilian, meanwhile, has also travelled to Barcelona with his teammates but will not feature at the Camp Nou as he continues his recovery from a muscle injury.
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Guimaraes was also not named by Carlo Ancelotti in his final Brazil squad before this summer’s World Cup. The Magpies man has been a key figure in Ancelotti’s squads throughout his reign as Brazil manager and his omission from the latest squad suggests that his injury issues will still take another couple of weeks to overcome.
Newcastle United, though, will not have the presence of Lewis Miley available to them in Catalonia. Miley hasn’t featured since their last Champions League league phase match away at PSG in January.
Initially, it was suspected that Miley had suffered a dead leg injury and that whilst he wouldn’t be rushed back into action too soon, it wasn’t anticipated that he would spend too long on the sidelines. However, the club then discovered a further muscle injury that has since forced the teenager to miss 13 matches in all competitions since then.
Like Tonali before him, Miley’s importance to the team has also increased in recent months amid an injury crisis in defence. Before he was injured, Miley had been used at right-back by Howe whilst both Kieran Trippier and Tino Livramento spent time on the sidelines. Howe confirmed in his pre-match press conference at the Camp Nou that Miley hadn’t travelled with the squad to Spain.
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