Newcastle United are preparing for their latest mid-season warm-weather break as Eddie Howe and his squad rest and recuperate before the business end of the campaign.
Friday night saw Newcastle record a last-gasp victory over Nottingham Forest but focus quickly turned to the international break jaunt. Speaking after the 2-1 victory, Howe confirmed the plan was to rest up before putting in more hard yards on the training pitch.
“Immediately it’ll be a little bit of rest after an intense period of game, then we’ll get back to training and preparation for Manchester United,” the Newcastle boss said. “I think we’re away for about five or six days. We’ll be training and making sure we’re fit and focused for the last part of the season.”
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The majority of the Newcastle squad have jetted abroad for the warm-weather camp, while others have earned international call-ups. Sven Botman, Alexander Isak, Kieran Trippier, Jamal Lewis and Martin Dubravka will all be eyeing game-time for their respective countries in the coming weeks.
Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton have been granted a short break, opting to travel to the Maldives and Brazil respectively with their partners. Guimaraes has been documenting his trip on Instagram, while Joelinton has been spotted enjoying his holiday with friends.
Both players are expected to head straight to Dubai in the coming days as Howe's group get to work at the lavish training complex situated in the Middle East.
Two men that won't be involved are Miguel Almiron and Nick Pope. The former has been ruled out for a number of weeks with a thigh problem, while the goalkeeper was forced to withdraw from the England squad on Monday.
For those involved, they will be put through their paces at the Nad Al Sheba Sports Complex. Newcastle used the facilities in 2022 and Howe also opted for the same location when with Bournemouth.
The Dubai complex plays home to a fully-equipped gym, swimming pool, plunge pool, steam room, sauna and large dressing room for up to 25 players. Altitude chambers, cryo chambers, climate chambers and a performance lab are also included.
“For me, it's one of the best training arenas in the world,” said Howe in 2022. "First-class facilities, a world-class pitch and the facilities around the pitch are second to none. We took the boys in the altitude chamber which they really enjoyed – swimming pool, cryotherapy chambers – we utilised everything we could to help the players.
"It's nice to expose the players to (the facilities). When you want to really push the players hard physically, you need to have the highest level of recovery equipment to utilise, and we have that here.”
