Newcastle have allayed any fears that England football team defender Kieran Trippier picked up an injury during the club’s end-of-season friendly clash with Tottenham in Australia.
Trippier, who had started the game in front of a crowd of 78,419 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, lasted just 37 minutes before he was replaced by Jacob Murphy after apparently taking a kick on his ankle.
However, Magpies boss Eddie Howe confirmed that the 33-year-old full-back’s withdrawal was “pre-planned” as he works his way back to full match fitness ahead of Euro 2024 and he was present for a group photograph at the end of the match.
He told reporters: “No that was all planned. We spoke to Kieran and thought the best thing to do was start him.
“He is still in the early stages of recovery so we didn’t want to take risks with him. Half an hour was always the aim.
“He did well and is not injured. Let’s see how he feels on Friday. We have to make sure we treat him well at the early stages.”
Trippier, who was named in Gareth Southgate’s 33-man training squad on Tuesday, had previously made just three appearances for his club since the beginning of March after being sidelined by a calf injury.
Southgate will have to reduce the party to 26 by June 7 and the Magpies defender, a veteran of England’s last three finals campaigns, will hope to win a seat on the plane.
Trippier looked on from the sidelines in Melbourne as the game finished 1-1 after Alexander Isak had cancelled out James Maddison’s opener with both managers having changed their entire starting XIs.
The Magpies eventually prevailed 5-4 on penalties with youngsters Joe White, Ben Parkinson, Amadou Diallo, Garang Kuol and Harrison Ashby all scoring from the spot after substitute keeper Mark Gillespie had saved Bryan Gil’s opening attempt.
Howe and his players will now start preparations for Friday’s fixture against an A-League All Stars team.
