Benitez explains omission of key Newcastle player in Birmingham draw
By Danny Wright
Rafa Benitez has revealed that Jonjo Shelvey started on the bench for Newcastle against Birmingham because he had a fever.
The club doctor told Benitez that the key midfielder should avoid starting the game.
Shelvey came off the bench in the latter stages of the game but couldn’t do much to help his side as they struggled to make a breakthrough in a goalless draw at St. Andrews.
The 25-year-old replaced Ayoze Perez with 12 minutes left and had little impact of the game however he should be ready to start the next game against Wigan at the DW Stadium after the upcoming international break.
“Jonjo had a high fever yesterday and the doctor told me this morning he wasn’t too sure whether he could start,” said Benitez, as quoted by the Shields Gazette.
“I decided it would be better to try to manage the game with fresher legs and players who had trained, and then with him it was a case of maybe trying to change something by playing him in the last 15 minutes.”
Newcastle supporters were less than pleased with some performances of their midfielders and they should be boosted by the news that it was nothing serious keeping Shelvey out of the side.
Matt Ritchie had a first half goal disallowed by the referee in a game that saw little action from either side.
Thanks to Leeds beating Brighton on Saturday evening, the Magpies stayed top of the Championship despite dropping two points to Gianfranco Zola’s side.
Shelvey has made 38 appearances in all competitions for north-east club this season and has contributed with four goals and an impressive 11 assists.
In other Newcastle news, Benitez has slammed the referee for disallowing Ritchie’s goal against the Blues.
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