The Magpies midfielder is recovering from a long-term thigh injury.
Newcastle United have announced that midfielder Jonjo Shelvey has asked to play for the club’s Under-23s in their Friday night Premier League 2 fixture at Fulham.
The 27-year-old has been sidelined since the beginning of January with a long-term thigh injury and is currently working his way back to fitness.
Shelvey has made only eight Premier League starts this season, and his most recent appearance came in the 1-1 FA Cup third-round draw with Blackburn Rovers for a total of just 101 minutes of football since November 3 (Sky Sports News).
“The England international, who recently recovered from a thigh injury, has requested to play for United’s second string in the 7pm (GMT) kickoff,” Newcastle wrote on Twitter.
Lee Ryder, Newcastle Chronicle chief reporter for the Magpies, elaborated in a tweet saying that Shelvey “knocked on Rafa’s door and asked to play for the reserves”.
Shelvey has fallen behind Sean Longstaff, Isaac Hayden, Mohamed Diame and Ki Sung-yueng in the squad’s midfield pecking order, and his inclusion in the U23s makes him unlikely to feature against West Ham on Saturday.
Here is how some Newcastle fans reacted to the news on Twitter:
Ben Dawson’s U23s are seeking a fourth successive league win and can move into third in the Premier League 2 table with victory at Motspur Park, Fulham’s training ground.
The reverse PL2 fixture against the Cottagers, at Whitley Park, saw Elias Sorensen score a hat-trick in a 5-2 win back in October (official Newcastle website).
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