An injury-stricken Newcastle United are aiming to overcome Qarabag in the Champions League.
Eddie Howe is set to make a decision on Joelinton, Lewis Miley and Sven Botman ahead of Newcastle United’s trip to Qarabag.
The games continue to come thick and fast for the Magpies, with attention turning to the Champions League. Azerbaijani side Qarabag present Newcastle with a realistic chance of making the last 16 for the club time in the club’s history.
Howe’s men are aiming to make a trio of away wins after beating Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa last week. However, the Magpies are sweating on several injury returns before the European showdown.
Newcastle United trio could feature
The Toon boss hinted at Joelinton being close to a possible return against Qarabag. He told reporters on Friday: "Joelinton's doing really well. I don't think he'll make this game, but he's not going to be too far away beyond this game.
“He's desperate to be back involved, as he normally is, but that's a great sign for us. That means he's feeling good about his body, and he's very positive."
On Miley, Howe delved deeper into the “dead leg” that has ruled him out for the previous four games. He added: “With Lewis, we are waiting day-by-day, he's got a dead leg - he got a bad knock to his thigh and I think there was a bit of muscle damage on the knock.
“He's having scans on it every few days to see how that is. We don't think it's going to be long term - hopefully he will be back pretty quickly, so let's wait and see on that one.”
Sven Botman concern
Botman missed the Villa win with a back issue and is fighting to be fit for Qarabag. Yoane Wissa - who has struggled for fitness since joining Newcastle - will miss a “couple of games” due to a knock.
“We’re not 100 per cent sure on both,” Howe said on Saturday. “Sven is feeling his back from the game against Tottenham. We don’t think it’s a serious injury and he certainly won’t be out for any period of time.
“But it was the right decision not to let him travel today. Yoane picked up a knock in training yesterday. Again, I don’t think it’s serious but he may miss a couple of games. Let’s wait and see.”
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