Eddie Howe admits he had to check whether Newcastle star wasn't lost in York Maze for SIX hours after bizarre hoax spiralled out of control

Eddie Howe has revealed he was forced to check whether Joe Willock had really been trapped in a maze after a bizarre online hoax spiralled out of control.

The Newcastle United boss admitted he spoke to the midfielder after a fake social media post claimed Willock had been lost for six hours in York Maze and rescued by emergency services.

The spoof post, shared by a parody X account known for fabricating football stories, quickly went viral last week. The false report was even read out live on BBC Radio One before being corrected on air, while York Maze said they were 'inundated' with messages from concerned fans.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference on Friday, Howe confessed he had briefly fallen for the story himself. 

'Yeah, I did discuss it with him, just to check whether it was true or not,' said. 'Probably like everybody else. This was right in the early stages of it. Thankfully it wasn't.

'But, no, Joe is fine. He's got the ability to laugh with it rather than be concerned about it.'

Howe reflected that the midfielder had handled the prank in good humour, despite the unusual attention it drew. 

'Joe's one of those players who takes everything in his stride,' he added. 'He's worked incredibly hard to get fit again, and to see his name trending for that reason was strange for everyone.'

The hoax originated from an X account Francis Chipp, who regularly posts fake news about footballers, with previous targets including Newcastle defenders Matt Targett and Sean Longstaff.

'EXCLUSIVE: Newcastle United midfielder Joe Willock, 26, had to be rescued from York Maze after a distress call to emergency services was made at around 5pm on Tuesday. He had been lost in the UK's largest maze for approximately six hours,' the account shared.

A post in August had claimed Newcastle had accidentally left defender Matt Targett in Seoul following the club's pre-season tour.

Targett made light of the fake story on Instagram, sharing a photo of him in training with the message 'Made it back in time for training.'

Another rumour had been created in 2023, which claimed Sean Longstaff had asked Newcastle manager Eddie Howe to take a month's holiday to allow him to going travelling with his brother Matty.

Longstaff addressed the rumour after scoring in Newcastle's next match, writing 'No time for travelling when there's 3 points at SJP to be had.'

He later added in a press conference: 'I don't really know what to say, I think it's a bit scary that one person can write something that's not true and the amount of people that think it is true is nuts.'