Eddie Howe has admitted that Newcastle United’s derby win over Sunderland came at a cost this afternoon, with Joelinton having suffered a thigh injury.
The Brazilian midfielder injured himself as he twisted to try to play a pass towards the end of the first half at the Stadium of Light.
Having received treatment, he came back out for the start of the second half, but was forced to admit defeat within the opening two minutes of the second period.
He will now be scanned to ascertain the extent of the damage, having only just returned to action following a hamstring injury.
“It looks like he felt his thigh as he was switching the play,” said Howe. “So, we’ll have to wait and see how he is.
“The injury situation has been frustrating. I’ve had an understanding of the position the players have been in, with our injury list having been as long as it has been.
“I’ve been having to pick the same players, and not having attacking options from the bench has been a big problem for us. We’re still in that position now. You could see the lack of attacking options on the bench today.
“Hopefully, the strength is starting to return to the group, although Joelinton is the big negative and we don’t really know what that injury looks like.”
While the loss of Joelinton would be a blow, Newcastle can at least take a great deal of satisfaction from their first derby victory over Sunderland in the last ten attempts.
The Magpies dominated from start to finish at the Stadium of Light, with Alexander Isak’s second-half double sealing a deserved victory after Dan Ballard had inadvertently opened the scoring by putting the ball through his own net.
“It was a professional display,” said Howe. “I thought we handled the early stages of the game very well.
“We always knew it was going to be a difficult atmosphere and a big occasion, but in those early stages of the game, we took control of the ball and drew the sting out of the match. We performed very well.”
