Steve Bruce confirms Newcastle midfielder Sean Longstaff is available v Leicester

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Manager Steve Bruce has confirmed that Newcastle United midfielder Sean Longstaff is available for the weekend against Leicester City.

The Magpies travel to the King Power Stadium on Sunday to face Leicester in the Premier League.

Bruce has confirmed (official Twitter) that Longstaff is fit again after recovering from an ankle problem that saw him miss the draw against Brighton last weekend.

The 21-year-old is back in contention for the North East giants, which could be even more important considering Jonjo Shelvey is absent with a hamstring injury (official Twitter).

Longstaff is a rising talent to come through the academy at St James’ Park and is becoming an important first teamer.

The youngster is a defensive midfielder that offers great support in front of the backline, while he’s also positive in possession and can pick a pass forward.

TBR’s View:

Longstaff will surely come straight back into the starting XI against Leicester and be a swap with the injured Shelvey.

Newcastle have a sizeable task ahead of them to get anything away to Leicester, but should take positives from the way they performed against them earlier in the season.

Bruce’s team faced them in the Carabao Cup second round and the teams were locked together at 1-1 at St James’ Park after 90 minutes, before the Foxes progressed on penalties.

They showed they can compete against Brendan Rodgers’ team and Longstaff is going to add some extra steel to Newcastle in the centre of the park.