Howe to take charge of first Newcastle game after negative Covid test

The former Bournemouth boss, who was hired after last month's Saudi-led takeover, is seeking to end his struggling club's wait for a first Premier League win of the season at the Emirates.

The 43-year-old was forced to miss the home draw against Brentford last Saturday after testing positive for Covid-19 the previous day.

Standing in for Howe at his pre-match press conference on Friday, assistant Jason Tindall said: "From my own personal experiences when I had Covid a couple of months ago, I had no symptoms to start with and it was only after about eight or nine days where it hit me really hard and I began to struggle.

"But from how Eddie was, I'd say Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, in comparison to how he's now feeling and the tone of his voice the latter part of this week, there's been a big difference."

Tindall confirmed that rigorous testing this week had uncovered no new cases at the club, who are bottom of the Premier League after taking just six points from their opening 12 matches.