NEWCASTLE boss Eddie Howe has confirmed that midfielders Joe Willock and Lewis Miley are unlikely to play again this season.

Willock, 24, has managed only 14 appearances during the campaign to date as he battles an Achilles problem, while 17-year-old Miley has been out with a back injury since the middle of last month.

The injuries have been closely monitored but Newcastle won't take any risks in the final weeks of the season and will look at the bigger picture with the midfield duo.

Asked if Willock will feature in the final six games of the season, Howe said: “No, we don’t think so.

“With Joe, we all have decided – the medical team, Joe – that a period where he strengthens the area around his Achilles would benefit him more, so he went to see a specialist, and they said, ‘look, you’ve got a couple of options here’.

“He could have carried on playing, but I think the longer-term view was taken, ‘let’s get him right for next season’, so that’s what everyone is working towards.

Teenager Miley was thrust into the senior team amid an injury crisis and started Champions League fixtures against Paris St Germain and AC Milan.

Asked about his prospects, Howe added: “The decision made on him again was to look at his long-term future and try to protect him, so we won’t see Lewie again this season.

“He’s done brilliantly this season, but I think with the back problem that he has, rest is probably the right way for us to go and even if there was a chance – and there possibly was if we pushed him to come back – we took that away very early with his age and thinking about his long-term prospects.”