Ahead of his return to the dugout this weekend after recovering from pneumonia, Eddie Howe has thanked Newcastle Uniteds club doctor - saying things may have been very different for him if it wasnt 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.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Newcastles 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.