Joe Willock and Lewis Miley won’t play again for Newcastle this season, with Eddie Howe conscious of not rushing them back from injuries.
Willock has endured an injury-hit campaign which has seen him start just five Premier League matches and make only 14 appearances across all competitions altogether. The £25million signing from Arsenal has been struggling with an Achilles injury and suffered a setback during the 1-0 win at Fulham earlier this month.
Asked ahead of Newcastle’s game against Crystal Palace on Wednesday if Willock could return before the end of the season, Howe said: “No, we don’t think so. With Joe, we all have decided – the medical team, Joe – that a period where he strengthens the area around his Achilles would benefit him more, so he went to see a specialist, and they said, ‘Look, you’ve got a couple of options here’.
“He could have carried on playing, but I think the longer-term view was taken, ‘Let’s get him right for next season’, so that’s what everyone is working towards.”
Howe added: “He’s desperate to play, but most importantly desperate to go into games feeling good with his body, and that’s the challenge for any player. The game is hard enough, the level is so high that if you’re not 100 per cent, the game usually finds a way to catch you out and I think Joe’s just been frustrated that he’s not felt his normal self when he’s played.”
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It is a similar situation with Miley, who has made a breakthrough into the first team this season by playing 30 times for Howe’s side. The 17-year-old midfielder has been missing with a back injury and Howe does not want to risk a recurrence by rushing him back.
“The decision made on him again was to look at his long-term future and try to protect him, so we won’t see Lewie again this season,” he said. “He’s done brilliantly this season, but I think with the back problem that he has, rest is probably the right way for us to go and even if there was a chance – and there possibly was if we pushed him to come back – we took that away very early with his age and thinking about his long-term prospects.”
Joe Willock has been hampered by an Achilles injury (Richard Sellers/Getty Images)The two midfielders aren’t Newcastle’s only absentees, with captain Kieran Trippier having been out with a calf injury since early March. The right-back will miss the Palace game, but Callum Wilson could be in contention having returned to training following a pectoral problem.
Newcastle are particularly injury-stricken, with Miguel Almiron, Nick Pope, Sven Botman, Jamaal Lascelles, Joelinton and Matt Targett all in the treatment room, while Sandro Tonali remains suspended for betting breaches.
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