Eddie Howe reveals Newcastle nightmare as illness hits squad before Man Utd clash

Eddie Howe has selection headaches to deal with this week (Picture: Getty Images)

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe has revealed that an illness has hit his squad ahead of the clash with Manchester United on Wednesday night.

The Magpies host the Red Devils this week as they look to turn round a poor run of form, but are facing a team that is in fine fettle under Michael Carrick .

Howe’s side were beaten at home by Everton last time out, with their fifth defeat in six games leaving them 13th in the Premier League table.

In contrast, Manchester United have won five of their last six, drawing the other, which has seen them rise to third in the division.

Newcastle will be desperate to start turning things around when they host Carrick’s men, but their chances have not been helped by sickness in the camp.

Howe has confirmed that striker Nick Woltemade is struggling with illness and hinted that the issue is more widespread, which means uncertain preparation for the match on Wednesday night.

‘Nick Woltemade has come down ill. There’s obviously an illness in the squad,’ Howe told a press conference on Monday morning.

Nick Woltemade has scored 10 goals in all competitions this season (Picture: Getty Images)

He added: ‘Jacob Ramsey trained fine yesterday. Potentially a sickness in the squad, Nick Woltemade hasn’t trained through illness, but we will give him every chance for tomorrow.’

Howe is already dealing with a number of injuries, with key midfielder Bruno Guimaraes out, as is Fabian Schar and Lewis Miley.

Tino Livramento is also sidelined and is not expected to be available against the Red Devils.

‘Tino Livramento is getting closer and closer, this game possibly comes too soon for him, we are desperate for him to become available,’ said the manager.

Bruno Guimares is a huge loss for Newcastle as he recovers from injury (Picture: Getty Images)

Despite the issues his team is dealing with, Howe says Newcastle will look to take the game to the in-form visitors at St James’ Park, seeing it as a great opportunity to spark back into life.

‘Our intention in every game is to get into them, be a proactive team rather than a reactive team. Attack them,’ he said.