Eddie Howe says Newcastle United’s game against Everton is “dangerously close” to becoming another victim of the Covid Christmas fixture crunch as he bemoaned his side’s luck against Manchester United.
Newcastle remain in the relegation zone with a single win this season but were superb in spells before Edison Cavani’s late leveller.
Newcastle’s performance was all the more impressive given their selection issues. He named two goalkeepers on the bench as injuries and Covid cases swept through the camp. Ciaran Clark, Karl Darlow, Matt Ritchie and Joe Willock were all missing – and Callum Wilson and Allan Saint-Maximin both departed with injuries as his side sparkled in a 1-1 draw with Manchester United.
Howe told Sky that Newcastle would be “dangerously close” to hitting the 13 outfield player limit that the Premier League require before a game is called off.
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Howe could not go into details on who was suffering from COVID but he confirmed the virus was ‘in the camp’ as he confirmed worrying injuries to two key players.
“Callum’s injury doesn’t look good,” he admitted. “I don’t what the extent of the injury is but the way he went down, I feared the worst for him. He thought he’d been kicked which is why he tried to get up and run it off, which he wasn’t able to do. Allan Saint-Maximin doesn’t look as bad but there is an injury there.”
Despite their reduced numbers, Newcastle may be hoping the Everton game remains on given the improvement in their play.
With Joelinton converted into a number six and delivering a display which Jamie Carragher said was “as good as any midfielder in the Premier League”, Newcastle looked much, much better.
Howe was downbeat about the result but enthused by the performance.
“That is the best we’ve played since I’ve been here. I am buoyed by what I’ve seen here. (It is) desperately disappointing not to win. We defended really well,” he said.
“We were really diligent, tactically excellent, defended really well in partnership and were really good in transition. We created some really good chances to get the second goal, which was crucial in the end.”
Asked whether the injuries might force his hand in the January transfer window, he said: “You’re talking to me just after the game so I need time to digest what they say. I need to see what the physios say.”
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