Newcastle United were well below their best last night, but no damage was done as we [beat Qarabag 3-2](https://www.nufcblog.co.uk/2026/02/24/tonali-shines-as-toon-make-history-newcastle-3-2-qarabag/) (9-3 on aggregate) to progress into the last 16 of the Champions League.
Following seven changes from Eddie Howe, we saw Sven Botman start and Yoane Wissa return to the bench, but our injury concerns continued as Jacob Ramsey was missing from the squad.
Pre-match reports stated he had been suffering with ‘tightness’ in his hamstring ahead of the game, and Howe offered an official update on this issue in his post-match press conference.
Any sort of hamstring issue is a worry, and poor timing when he’s been playing so well in Bruno Guimaraes and Lewis Miley’s absence. However, it sounds like the former Aston Villa star has escaped anything serious and could be back for Saturday’s game, with scans results coming back all clear.
Asked if the midfielder could be back on to face Everton this weekend, Howe said:
> _“We hope so. He just felt his hamstring, and was aware of a tightness in his hamstring._
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> _“He had a scan and it came back all clear._ _So we’re hopeful there’ll be a quick improvement and he’ll be back involved, hopefully for our next game. But let’s wait and see.”_
As for Howe’s selection as a whole, the boss was asked about his seven changes and those he left out, insisting Lewis Hall was the one first-team regular he wanted to rest “above anyone else” given hi work load in recent weeks.
> _“I wanted to give Lewis Hall a rest above anyone else. So it was about selecting people who could get through the game._
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> _“We’ve got a really fragile squad at the moment. We’ve got a number of players who we are willing to get back as quickly as possible.”_
While this makes sense, some will question why Hall came on at all, although it may have been unfair for right-back Leo Shahar to have played out of position on his first appearance in senior football.