Eddie Howe says that Callum Wilson comes straight back into contention for Newcastle United's clash with Manchester City.
The number 9 was restricted to just a cameo role against Liverpool during the 3-1 defeat but Howe insisted he was rested rather than dropped with Newcastle's festive fixture list in full swing.
Wilson has been the club's top scorer this term with six goals and his efforts have kept Newcastle in with a fighting chance of survival.
Howe said: "It was a case of just trying to look after Callum and trying to protect him.
"We know how important he is for us and we have a very busy schedule of games.
"There's a lot of tight fixtures crammed in.
"It was a case of understanding his history and knowing him this was a wise game for him to miss out."
Howe got the chance instead to look at Allan Saint-Maximin as the lone striker and reflected: "Allan did really well on his own up front and caused them problems as we thought he would do with his dribbling ability and pace.
"He had a really good chance to put us 2-1 up.
"He went long spells without the ball but did a diligent job as did the team."
