Newcastle face new injury “concern” for Liverpool as 3 more players forced off

Newcastle are already without Bruno Guimaraes for the visit of Liverpool, and Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Bournemouth saw three players forced off.

Liverpool head to St James’ Park next Saturday, five days after the Merseyside derby at Anfield, and come up against a Newcastle side in increasingly average form.

Saturday saw Eddie Howe oversee a 1-1 stalemate away to his former club, and though they are now unbeaten in seven in all competitions, they have drawn five of their last six in the Premier League.

The absence of Guimaraes, who will serve the last of his three-game suspension against Liverpool following a red card in the Carabao Cup, has been a big blow.

Javi Manquillo, Matt Targett and Emil Krath are also out with injuries, and during the draw at Dean Court, the Magpies suffered three more issues.

One of those, with midfielder Joe Willock taken off with a hamstring problem after just 36 minutes, is considered a “concern” by Howe, as he spoke to reporters after the game.

Howe is hopeful, though, that forwards Allan Saint-Maximin and Miguel Almiron are not facing time out despite being withdrawn due to knocks.

“I think Miggy and Max, I don’t think are too bad,” he told reporters as relayed by the Chronicle.

“Miggy, I think, got stamped on his hand, so we think he’ll be OK. Maxi was just a knock.

“The concern from today is Joe Willock who has gone off with a hamstring problem.”

Along with Sean Longstaff, Willock and Guimaraes have been key players within Howe’s midfield, with the trio starting the majority of games together so far this season.

Without Guimaraes, the Newcastle manager has turned to Joelinton as part of his three-man unit, while Willock was replaced by Anthony Gordon in the draw at Bournemouth.

That saw Howe switch to a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Gordon operating as a No. 10 and Longstaff dropping deeper to sit alongside Joelinton in midfield.

If Willock is not available, that could be the only option for the Liverpool clash, with young attacking midfielders Elliott Anderson, 20, and Lewis Miley, 16, in reserve.

With Matty Longstaff also sidelined with an ACL injury, Newcastle allowed their only other senior midfielder, Jonjo Shelvey, to join Nottingham Forest on deadline day.