Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe will miss his side’s next two games against Crystal Palace and Aston Villa as he recovers from pneumonia.
Howe remains in hospital having been admitted late on Friday after feeling “unwell for a number of days”, Newcastle said in a statement.
The 47-year-old missed Sunday’s Premier League game against Manchester United with assistants Jason Tindall and Graeme Jones leading the team for their 4-1 victory. The pair will remain in charge.
“A huge thank you to everyone connected with Newcastle United and the wider football community for your messages and warm wishes. They have meant a lot to me and my family,” Howe told the club website.
“I also want to pay tribute to our incredible NHS and the hospital staff who have treated me. I’m immensely grateful for the specialist care I’m receiving and, after a period of recovery, I look forward to being back as soon as possible.”
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FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Newcastle United’s match against Manchester United in the Premier League
Newcastle sit fourth in the Premier League ahead of facing Crystal Palace on Wednesday and Aston Villa on Saturday, with both fixtures live on Sky Sports.
Tindall told Sky Sports before the victory over Manchester United: “Obviously he’s not been well this week and he was admitted into hospital on Friday evening, so everybody wishes him all the best and I’m sure he will be back with us again soon.
“When you’ve been ill all week, it’s very difficult to have the kind of input that I’m sure he would normally have.”
Straight after the game, Tindall revealed Howe had already been in touch with him.
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Dan Burn sends his best wishes to Newcastle manager Eddie Howe as he was not present for their 4-1 victory over Manchester United
Tindall said: “I’ve just seen a message from him before I came to do the press, congratulating the performance of everyone on the team. He was able to watch it and I’m sure that left him in good spirits.
“He trusted the decisions that we made. We’ve been working together for a long time and we were able to communicate early on in the week and I think he put his trust in everybody to go and put in a performance that he’d be proud of – and the lads certainly did that.
“With the way we work, we know the expectations. We have a fantastic group of players, they know the expectations and the demands that the manager and everybody else will put on them.”
Wednesday April 16: Newcastle vs Crystal Palace – kick-off 7.30pm, live on Sky Sports
Saturday April 19: Aston Villa vs Newcastle – kick-off 5.30pm, live on Sky Sports
Saturday April 26: Newcastle vs Ipswich – kick-off 3pm
Sunday May 4: Brighton vs Newcastle – kick-off 2pm, live on Sky Sports
Saturday May 10: Newcastle vs Chelsea – kick-off 12.30pm
Sunday May 18: Arsenal vs Newcastle – kick-off 3pm
Sunday May 25: Newcastle vs Everton – kick-off 4pm
