Merino won’t play against Bournemouth

CAIRO – 3 October 2017: Newcastle United player Mikel Merino will not participate against Bournemouth on Saturday due to an injury.

"Merino will be out for at least a couple of weeks. We will see how he is doing," Newcastle coach Rafael Benitez told a news conference on Friday.

"He will not go away with the national team and he will not be available for this game. We will have to wait and see how his lower back is,” the coach said.

"He was feeling the pain the other day. We know he is not available, so we have to concentrate on the other players, and I think it is fine," he added.

"We have four or five midfielders. We have Diame, Saivet, Hayden and Shelvey; and if we need, we can bring Mbemba in as a midfielder – he played there in the Africa Cup of Nations. I think we have enough bodies," said Benitez.

Newcastle has 14 points from 10 matches and sits ninth in the table.