Eddie Howe provides update on Joelinton & Schar's injuries ahead of EFL Cup clash against Chelsea

Newcastle will face Chelsea in EFL Cup quarter final

After already defeating Manchester United and City to advance to the quarterfinals, the Magpies might advance to another final at Stamford Bridge in midweek, but Eddie Howe anticipates a tough test from the Blues.

The following are some of the main talking topics from Howe’s Monday morning pre-game media briefing:

Eddie Howe acknowledges that errors have been committed in the medical field this season, but he is hopeful that Joelinton and Fabian Schar’s injuries are not serious ones.

Joelinton and Schar were sent off in the first half of the team’s match against the Cottagers, bringing Howe’s roster back to twelve players. Howe acknowledged that the two were experiencing muscle issues once more when questioned about the new issues. Howe stated:

“I think Fabby’s is a glute problem, I don’t think it’s a hamstring, and Joey’s possibly might be a hamstring.

Howe responded as follows when pressed if there was an administrative investigation:

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“I don’t think it takes much of an internal investigation. The problem we’ve had is because we’ve had injuries to start with.

“The early ones we picked up, it meant our squad has just not managed the games. It’s been impossible to, we’ve had to pick the same players continually and eventually, those players with the load that they’re playing under will break, so I think we’ve just been a victim of circumstance.

“Don’t get me wrong, there have been mistakes made and there will always be mistakes made medically because it’s that kind of profession. You’re not going to get every assessment right.

“A lot of the time, you’re in the hands of the specialist. But the weight of games we’ve had – and it’s still unrelenting for us – we just haven’t recovered properly.”

Howe on the return of Sven Botman, who was introduced for the last six minutes on Saturday. ‘He’s rehabbed really well, so we will have to make a decision on whether we want to start him in this game. There are certain players that lift the team that little bit extra, and he is one of those. He’s a big presence, a big guy, and we missed his presence.’

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