Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer has named Isaac Hayden in his Premier League Team of the Week following his impressive display against West Brom.
The former Arsenal midfielder was praised for his performance on Saturday in an unfamiliar role in the heart of defence alongside Ciaran Clark.
Steve Bruce was forced to reshuffle his pack following the Magpies' coronavirus-enforced absence, but the 25-year-old hardly put a foot wrong throughout the 2-1 victory
It was a performance made all the more impressive by Hayden's recent battle with coronavirus, which he admitted after the match had taken a bigger toll than he expected.
He told NUFC TV: "I was in bed for ten days and couldn't do anything.
"I had it [Covid-19] quite bad so to have two or three days training and then play a game in the Premier League wasn't easy but the lads stuck to it and came through with the three points.
"I feel OK now but it is the tiredness you feel after it. I may have underestimated it.
"It is a bad virus but I had a couple of days of training to get it back into the legs and today a few of the lads did well to come in and play as well as they did considering what we have had."
Hayden's display has now been recognised by Shearer, who has named the holding midfielder in a back three for his team of the week.
Hayden partners Everton's Michael Keane and Southampton's Jaanik Vestergaard, with Carlo Ancelotti named as manager of the week after guiding the Toffees to a victory over in-form Chelsea.
