Newcastle United winger Matt Ritchie was suffering from illness at the weekend.
Rafael Benitez has told the Chronicle that Newcastle United Matt Ritchie was desperate to play against Brentford, despite having an illness.
Benitez was advised by Newcastle’s medical staff to leave Ritchie out, as he was not in optimum condition.
However, Ritchie was keen to ignore Newcastle’s physiotherapists, and told Benitez that he was ready to play.
“Ritchie was pushing me all the time – he wanted to play but we had a conversation with the doctor, and he said he couldn’t play, but Ritchie was pushing me to play, which is a good sign,” Benitez said.
Benitez took the advice of Newcastle’s doctor in the end and left Ritchie out of the match day squad.
It turned out to be a good decision, as Newcastle picked up a very good victory over Brentford.
The Magpies scored their goals through a Dwight Gayle double, and a header from Ciaran Clark.
Newcastle’s win over Brentford has elevated them into the automatic promotion places. They currently sit just one point behind league leaders Norwich City.
Newcastle’s next match comes against Barnsley on Tuesday evening.
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