Report names three players Jason Tindall can rely on to help him lead Newcastle United in Eddie Howe's absence

Eddie Howe is expected to miss at least the next two Newcastle United games after being hospitalised with pneumonia.

Indeed, club doctors are adamant that the gaffer will not return to the fray until he is 100% and that means that his absence could extend way beyond tonight and Saturday's games.

Newcastle embodied a 'do it for Eddie' attitude on Sunday as they trounced Manchester United at St James' Park thanks to a couple of tactical tweaks from Jason Tindall at half time.

In his programme notes tonight, Jason Tindall acknowledges that in 17 years working together there have only been two occasions where the two have not been side-by-side in the dugout - Eddie Howe's first game at Newcastle where he was sidelined after testing positive for COVID, and Sunday against Man United.

Jason Tindall has three top players to help him pump up the team

But while it would be easy for Jason Tindall to feel lost without his shadow, he has plenty of players in the group he can count on to step up and lead with the iPaper naming three who were brought in by Eddie Howe as leaders.

Kieran Trippier was handed the captain's armband early on in his Newcastle career and continues to be a strong voice in the dressing room.

Bruno Guimaraes is the current team captain and seems to be more than up for the task, putting to bed early worries that Howe had made a mistake, and then of course, there is Dan Burn who recently impressed England boss Thomas Tuchel with his leadership abilities in his first international training camp.

Eddie Howe has Newcastle United in such a good place it can tick over in his absence

As well as the players, Tindall has Graeme Jones, Steven Purches and Simon Weatherstone to help him.

Eddie Howe has laid all the groundwork so well that each coach and every player will be more than confident that they know what they need to do. Like any good boss who can just let their workers crack on with full trust that the job will get done, that's the kind of machine Howe has created at Newcastle.

Obviously, we would love a speedy recovery and a return to the dugout for Eddie Howe, but it's good to know, and we're sure it's the same for him too, that the team is in good hands while he's away.