I can’t imagine how the family is feeling – Eddie Howe on Christian Atsu

Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe says he is worried about the situation regarding Ghana’s Christian Atsu following the earthquake in Turkey and Syria.

The 31-year-old is part of the people to have suffered casualty following Monday morning’s earthquakes which had magnitudes of 7.7 and 7.8.

On Wednesday, Atsu was reported to have been pulled from wreckage and found alive after 26 hours in the rubble but reports the following day indicated the player had still not been rescued, something Howe believes will be a disturbing issue for the family and close relations.

“It’s been difficult because there are conflicting reports about his whereabouts. I can’t imagine how his family are feeling, but from the bottom of our hearts, we wish him well and hope for a positive ending,” he said.

Howe worked together with Atsu during the latter’s loan spell at the club from Chelsea and the gaffer said he “enjoyed” working with the Ghanaian.

“[I] really enjoyed working with Christian [Atsu], great lad, great player. Our thoughts are with him and his family. We hope for some good news. We hope he is okay