Great news as Eddie Howe confirmed to be back in the hot seat by Newcastle United official website

Eddie Howe has missed the last three games for Newcastle United as the gaffer was hospitalised with pneumonia.

Jason Tindall and Eddie Howe's coaching staff stepped up in Eddie Howe's absence to lead the team to two wins and one defeat, which saw Newcastle jump into third place for a while before dropping back down to fifth.

Tindall was still on standby to be in the dugout on Saturday when Ipswich Town come to St James' Park, however, it's now expected that Eddie Howe will be back in charge for the next game.

The club confirmed this morning (Thursday) that Eddie Howe has returned to his duties at the training centre.

Charlotte Wilson/Offside | Credit: Offside via Getty Images

Newcastle United didn't give much away with their statement this morning

The statement released by the club was very short and void of any real details.

"Newcastle United are delighted to confirm that Eddie Howe has returned to his duties at the club's Training Centre.

"Eddie had recently been hospitalised with pneumonia and has now returned to work after a period of recovery.

"We thank supporters for their warm wishes."

We expect to hear from Eddie Howe on Friday morning

We suspect that if he's well enough to return to work on the training ground that he's back to take up his full duties, and we'll hear from the man himself in the press briefing in the morning.

The messaging while Howe was in hospital was clear: that he'd only return to work when 100% fit again, so we can only imagine that's the case now.

Perhaps seeing his side beaten so badly on Saturday was the shot of adrenaline he needed.

We are just glad that the gaffer is well again, and we expect that his return will be a massive boost to the squad too.