Newcastle United injury news leaves Eddie Howe short before Forest trip

Newcastle go into the trip to Nottingham Forest with their defensive options badly stretched. Tino Livramento is nursing a thigh injury and is described as not close after the first few days of preparation for Sunday's Premier League clash at the City Ground. Fabian Schär has already been ruled out of the game, while Lewis Miley is out for the season.

Howe's defensive options have thinned fast

Howe said of Livramento: "With Tino, he went for a scan initially. We will wait and see if he will play again this season."

That is not a small issue for Newcastle. He is one of the players they have leaned on in a run-in that has already been uneven, with the club 13th in the Premier League on 45 points from 35 matches. Their last five league results are WLLLL. The margin for error is thin enough without losing another defender.

Schär is a bigger miss than the raw injury update might suggest. Howe said: "He's been a big, big miss." The defender has made 16 Premier League appearances this season and has a 7.12 rating, so Newcastle are not simply losing a depth option, they are losing one of the more reliable performers in the squad.

What Newcastle are missing from the run-in

Miley's injury was confirmed by the club after he sustained damage to his lower right leg during training on Tuesday. Newcastle said he is expected to return for the start of pre-season. That keeps the picture simple for Howe: one player unavailable for the rest of the campaign, one more who is not close, and another already out of the Forest match after foot infection and minor surgery.

The club's final three Premier League fixtures are away to Nottingham Forest, home to West Ham and away to Fulham. Howe's immediate concern is not the table or the chase for anything beyond the season, it is getting through those three games with enough defenders available to finish properly.

There is still one small point of uncertainty around Livramento. Howe's comments leave the door open, while the club's earlier expectation pointed towards a later return. For Newcastle, that is not a debate they can act on now. They need clearer bodies for Sunday first, and at the moment they do not have them.