Ahead of his return to the dugout this weekend after recovering from pneumonia, Eddie Howe has thanked Newcastle United's club doctor - saying things may have been very different for him if it wasn't for the medic's quick thinking.
Howe was hospitalised after being taken ill two weeks ago, and missed his side's Premier League matches against Manchester United, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa. He is expected to return to the dugout when Newcastle play Ipswich Town on Saturday.
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Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Newcastle's head coach said he knew something was wrong during the 3-0 win at Leicester City on Monday 7 April.
"At the Leicester game, I felt awful. I planned to come back to training for [the] Man Utd [match]. I had a shower and was getting ready to go and something was telling me 'no'. That was the moment things changed.
"I was very thankful the doctor here, Paul Catterson, acted quickly because, without that quick intervention, it could possibly have had a different outcome."
Opening up further about his health struggle, Howe has called for people to seek care when they're not feeling well, rather than ignoring the problem and hoping it will go away.
"I'm one of those people, probably like most men, who don't necessarily offer yourself to doctors but think, 'I'll be ok in a couple of days, I'll fight through it'', Howe said.
"I'm very much in that mindset. I'll go through anything until I can't. [But] I was pleased to be told to go to hospital. That was the right place for me.
"The care I received from the NHS was absolutely first class. I can't thank them enough, they were absolutely brilliant, with the care and the love I felt from them.
"I'm OK now. I'm not 100 per cent in my body but I'd like to think I'm close to 100 per cent in my mind, which is the important thing. Thankfully, I am now through the worst of it."
Tribute to Tindall
Howe praised his assistant Jason Tindall, who took charge during the head coach's unexpected leave of absence and guided Newcastle to two wins, enhancing their chances of a return to the UEFA Champions League next season.
Asked about his level of involvement while he was away, Howe responded: "Zero. I made a conscious decision when I didn't feel well enough to focus on the football to give Jason and the staff full responsibility because, for me, you're either all in or all out.
"I was able to watch all of the games and I thought the staff were absolutely magnificent. Jason did absolutely brilliantly. I am very lucky to have him. [I owe] a real tribute to them and now I'm back, I hope I can add something to the group."
Race for Champions League places
The Magpies sit fifth going into Saturday's home match against Ipswich, and Howe believes the race for the top five is likely to go down to the wire.
"Now there are five massive games for us, there is no denying that," said the head coach.
"We know what position we are in and what we need to do. The players are focused. I have seen a good reaction from them."
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
36 | +23 | 66 |
| 4 |
Man City
MCI
|
36 | +24 | 65 |
| 5 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
36 | +19 | 63 |
| 6 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
36 | +7 | 63 |
| 7 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
36 | +12 | 62 |
Howe added: "I see it being very tight and possibly going to the end of the season for the top five places. I think we have put ourselves in a very strong position.
"We go into a five-game league now where we have some tough games, but we'll have to be at our best, starting with Ipswich."
Newcastle's final five fixtures
