Fresh injury woes as Newcastle grab draw
Steve Bruce puffed out his cheeks after Newcastle United ended a three-game losing run in the Premier League and admitted their injury curse was something he had never seen before.
The Newcastle manager had already fielded a remodelled line-up due to injuries and, by the half-hour mark of this game when it was already 1-1, he had been forced into two substitutions.
Off went both Paul Dummett and Dwight Gayle, with Joelinton also playing at “half pace” after a knock, according to Bruce. The upshot was that his patched-up team produced a battling display to frustrate a talented Wolves attack that struggled to make headway despite Adama Traore’s thrusts.
“It’s ridiculous,” admitted Bruce, who has seen injured players dropping like flies recently. “We are down to the bare bones.”
The Newcastle manager was quick to point out that methods have not changed since the days before his arrival. “It’s the same medical staff as last year,” he said. “Of course, we will go in depth and say, ‘are we unfortunate?’ or are there reasons why? My thinking is that it’s the amount of games played.”
Miguel Almiron continued his upturn in goalscoring form, with a third in six matches in all competitions, to give Newcastle a seventh-minute lead – but Leander Dendoncker equalised just seven minutes later.
Newcastle had taken the lead from a slick move. Jetro Willems stepped over then rolled the ball across for Gayle who produced a flick for Almiron to strike from 12 yards. It was the 15th time this season that Wolves have conceded first in the league – more than any other club.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s team levelled when Dendoncker scored with a deft volley just outside the six-yard box after evading Newcastle captain Federico Fernandez from Joao Moutinho’s delivery. After the injury-enforced changes for Newcastle, Wolves probed but were restricted by the hardrunning visitors, who looked a threat at times on the counter-attack.
“We should improve in the final third on deliveries,” said Nuno, who again refused to blame tiredness. “It’s obvious that we must bring players in. Of course, we are looking in attack. We need solutions.”