Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez has confirmed that Magpies midfielder Jonjo Shelvey will play for the team’s U23s side on Friday night.
The England international has struggled for fitness since the turn of the year and hasn’t featured for Benitez’s team since playing half an hour against Blackburn Rovers on January 5.
Benitez has given an update: “Jonjo will play for the U23s today,” he said at his pre match press conference, as per journalist Lee Ryder’s personal Twitter account. “He asked to play.”
Newcastle’s second string side are away to Fulham on Friday.
Rafa on Jonjo Shelvey: "Jonjo will play for the U23s today. He asked to play." #nufc second string take on Fulham away tonight at Motspur Park.
— Lee Ryder (@lee_ryder) March 1, 2019
OPINION
This is fascinating to hear from Benitez. Shelvey was obviously so desperate to play some sort of football that he knocked on his manager’s door and asked to play for the second string side. There aren’t many footballers who are humble enough or self-aware enough to ask for something like that and to realise that it’s something they need to do. Shelvey clearly felt like this was the right next step for him as he continues his recovery from injury. It’s been a difficult 2019 for the former Swansea City man so far, but he seems like he’s making the right choices as he looks to get back to full strength. It probably speaks to an awareness from him, as well, that he’s not necessarily desperately needed in the first team at the moment. Isaac Hayden and Sean Longstaff are performing so well and are backed up amply by Mohamed Diame and Ki Sung-yueng. So Shelvey has probably put two and two together and thought ‘this will be good for me and the team will be fine without me’. Credit to him for realising that.
