NEWCASTLE UNITED'S Brazil midfielder Joelinton is unlikely to feature in the team's final four games of the season due to a recurring knee injury, boss Eddie Howe said on Friday.
The 28-year-old missed Newcastle's 3-0 Premier League win against Ipswich Town last weekend.
“The likelihood is it’ll be difficult I think, but with Joe you’ll never rule him out,“ Howe said on Joelinton’s chances of returning this season.
“He’s so motivated to try and come back. A bit of discomfort in his knee last week before the (Ipswich) game, he sought specialist opinion.
“Nothing serious but he needed a period of rest. He’s now in Brazil. We’ll see if we can get him back by the end of the season, but probably not. I wouldn’t say it’s a new injury, but it’s a related injury and it just needs a bit of rest.”
Joelinton missed five games earlier this season with a knee injury.
Newcastle are in third place on 62 points chasing a Champions League qualifying spot in a tightly-packed Premier League table, with Manchester City fourth on 61 ahead of Chelsea (60), Nottingham Forest (60) and Aston Villa (57).
Howe had some positive injury news in that defender Sven Botman is fit to feature at Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday after his return from injury last weekend.
“Yeah, he came through (fine),“ the manager said. “He’s trained well this week, looks good and so a big positive to have him back.”
There has been growing interest in Newcastle forward Alexander Isak ahead of the transfer window, with 22 goals putting him second in the Premier League scoring charts behind Liverpool's Mohamed Salah (28).
However, Howe said the 25-year-old Sweden international was not going anywhere.
“He’s not for sale from my perspective,“ he told reporters on Friday. “If I’m going to build a squad, I want the strongest squad possible for next season.
“There’s a lot to look forward to hopefully, end of the season is going to be crucial for us.
“I think we have a strong squad and if we can add some players for the first time in a few windows, that will make a massive, massive difference for us. So that’s what I’m focusing on, not the other way around.”
