Newcastle injury update: Eddie Howe confirms Joelinton boost, Lewis Miley progress and Emil Krafth setback before Champions League meeting with Qarabag
Newcastle United are in Azerbaijan for Wednesday night’s first leg of their Champions League play-off against Qarabag, with Eddie Howe balancing optimism and frustration in his latest team news update.
The Magpies head into the European tie in good spirits after consecutive away wins over Tottenham and Aston Villa last week, but their squad continues to be stretched by injuries.
Several key players remain unavailable – namely Bruno Guimarães, who has recently been ruled out for two months – providing Howe a selection headache at a crucial stage of the season.
Speaking to the press on Tuesday, the Newcastle boss provided updates on a number of important names, confirming one significant boost while also delivering a major setback at the back.
Joelinton returns as Miley edges closer
Joelinton is back in the squad and has travelled, offering a timely lift ahead of the first leg.
“Joelinton’s back in the squad so that’s a great boost for us,” Howe said. “He’s such an important player, such a big presence within our squad, such a real leader.
“He trained yesterday and trained well, and felt really good.”
Howe did admit, however, that the wider injury picture remains challenging. “No one else from the missing list has travelled from the last game so we’re missing quite a few players, quite a few real quality players as well. They’re big misses for us, but we come in here good spirits from our last two games.”
The manager was clear about his intentions for Wednesday’s fixture. “We will play our strongest team in the sense that we will try and win the game. There’ll be no thinking of the schedule ahead; this game, in isolation, is hugely important.”
Lewis Miley remains sidelined but is making encouraging progress. “Lewy’s made good progress in the last few days. We’re quite happy with his progress,” Howe explained. The issue stemmed from a heavy knock that caused muscle disruption. “As soon as that muscle is healed, which we think it is, now we can push him on.”
Bruno update and season-ending blow for Krafth
Bruno Guimarães, who is set to miss the next two months of action, will spend time with Brazil’s national team staff as part of his recovery plan. Howe described it as a positive balance between light work and mental refreshment before returning to complete the final stage of rehabilitation.
There was far less encouraging news regarding Emil Krafth. The defender has undergone knee surgery and is unlikely to feature again this season.
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“Emil’s had an operation on his knee so I think in all likelihood, it looks like the season is over, which is a real blow for us,” Howe said.
With a long flight to contend with, Howe insisted preparations have gone smoothly and expects his squad to be ready for what he described as a hugely important European encounter.
Evangelos Marinakis rarely speaks out publicly so, when he does, it carries weight.
After Olympiacos’ recent blip in the league, he has demanded five straight wins, as well as not relenting in the Champions League.
“I don’t want different intensity in Europe and Greece.”…
— BBSportNews (@thebbsportnews) February 17, 2026
Sven Botman and Yoane Wissa
There is no official confirmation yet regarding Sven Botman and Yoane Wissa going into the game against Qarabag, and there was no sign of either in the photos of the squad boarding the plane, nor in the footage of the team training in Azerbaijan.
On Sunday, Eddie Howe had stated that the two were doubts for the game against Qarabag.
“Yeah, I’m not 100 per cent sure on both,” Howe said on Botman and Wissa.
“Sven’s feeling is back from the game against Tottenham. We don’t think it’s a serious injury. We certainly hope he won’t be out for any period of time. It was the right decision not to let him travel today.
“Yoane picked up a knock in training yesterday, again, we don’t think it’s serious, but he may miss a couple of games. Let’s wait and see.”
