Newcastle United faces Marseille without key players due to UEFA rule

Newcastle United faces a challenging Champions League clash against Marseille, with manager Eddie Howe confirming several key players like Anthony Gordon, Kieran Trippier, and Emil Krafth are doubtful or ruled out due to injuries and UEFA squad rules.

Newcastle United face a tough Champions League tie away to Marseille missing several key players due to injury concerns and restrictive UEFA squad registration rules.

According to a report from NewcastleWorld, Newcastle United will be without at least three notable names for their Champions League tie in Marseille on Tuesday evening, despite heading to the South of France on the back of an excellent 2-1 victory over Premier League title challengers Manchester City.

While Tino Livramento, Lewis Hall, Nick Pope, and Joelinton were cleared to start the Manchester City match, the Magpies face multiple absences.

Five senior players remain sidelined, including Anthony Gordon, who is still “very close” to a return, and Kieran Trippier, about whom manager Eddie Howe is “unsure.”

In addition to the injured players, Howe is also unable to name defender Jamaal Lascelles in his matchday squad. This is because the 32-year-old was not named on the 21-man ‘List A’ squad Newcastle submitted to UEFA ahead of the competition getting underway.

UEFA rules allow clubs to submit a ‘List A’ of up to 25 players if they include four ‘club-trained’ players, but the Magpies could only name 21 due to this deficiency. Harrison Ashby, John Ruddy, and Mark Gillespie were also excluded.

Providing an update on the progress of another sidelined player, Howe said on Friday: “I haven’t got a clear, defined return date for you. He [Wissa] is working well. He’s not back training with us yet, but he’s close. He’s working with a sports scientist.

He’s in that phase, sort of moves past his physios. He’s now back with the sports science team and he’s also almost entering a pre-season with them currently.

He’s doing a lot of work. He’s looking good, looking better with every session. And as I say, he’s close to training with us. But until he gets to there, it’s very difficult to give you a date.”