Callum Wilson fitness update as Newcastle United striker withdrawn against Liverpool following nasty collision
Callum Wilson made his first Premier League start of the season for Newcastle United as they were beaten 2-0 at Liverpool on Wednesday night.
A late injury withdrawal for Alexander Isak saw Wilson handed a surprise call-up to the starting line-up at Anfield. It was the striker’s first league start for Newcastle since May 2024 and only his third in the last 14 months.
Wilson played 69 minutes on the eve of his 33rd birthday before being replaced by Will Osula. The striker’s withdrawal came 20 minutes after he received treatment following a nasty clash of heads with Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk.
The collision saw the match stopped for several minutes before the pair returned to the pitch. Wilson was left with a cut just above his right eye that was patched up on the pitch.
Despite Wilson’s blow to the head and withdrawal, Howe confirmed the striker got through the game with no major issues.
“Yeah, I think he's fine,” Howe told The Gazette. “I think he'll be pleased with his performance. We envisaged him playing around 60 minutes, I thought he led the line well.”
Wilson missed two one-on-one opportunities during the match. One was flagged for offside and the other saw him under pressure from Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate but he failed to test Alisson on either occasion.
Still, Howe praised the striker for his performance considering his lack of first-team action over the past 12 months.
“It was a typical Callum performance, he'd be disappointed not to score because he always wants to score,” Howe added. “But considering he's had such a lack of football and a lack of minutes, I thought he did really well.
“We brought Callum in and played a different way and I thought our system looked good, I thought our shape looked good, I had no issues with that.
“No issues with the effort levels, the commitment was there. Which was much improved from Manchester City, just our quality was missing.”
Wilson could be handed his second start in four days should Isak remain sidelined for Sunday’s FA Cup fifth-round clash against Brighton & Hove Albion at St James’ Park (1:45pm kick-off). Howe is hopeful the Swede will be back available for the match with a Premier League match against West Ham United and the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool to come next month.