Newcastle United provide injury update on Joelinton, Sandro Tonali & Fabian Schar ahead of Leeds trip
Newcastle United were dealt a quadruple blow during the 3-2 defeat against Liverpool on Monday night.
In addition to losing the match in the 100th minute, Newcastle also lost four players during the St James’ Park encounter.
Anthony Gordon was sent off in the first half for a cynical late challenge on Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk.
Joelinton, Sandro Tonali and Fabian Schar were then all substituted after picking up knocks in the second half.
As a result, all four players could miss the upcoming trip to Elland Road. Alexander Isak will likely miss the trip as his self-imposed exile from the first-team squad continued in a bid to force a move away from the club.
However, the striker did hold talks with Newcastle co-owner Jamie Reuben and a PIF delegation over the possibility of re-integrating into the first-team squad. Whether that happens before Leeds or indeed at all remains to be seen with still a week to go in the summer transfer window.
Isak’s prolonged absence, Gordon’s suspension and three fresh injury blows leaves Newcastle’s squad looking depleted just two games into the season.
Eddie Howe confirms triple injury blow for NUFC
Joelinton went down holding his leg while Tonali was struggling with movement in his arm in the second half. Schar also took a knock to the head, which means the club will now follow the appropriate concussion protocol, ruling the defender out against Leeds.
“They're genuine injuries,” Howe told The Gazette. “They've come off in the middle of the game and that would be a huge blow to us.
“Joey doesn't look great, to be honest, especially when the signal was so early when he went down. Sandro, again, doesn't look good.
“He wanted to stay on but wasn't functioning properly. Obviously, we lose Anthony through suspension and Fabian through concussion.”
The Gazette has launched a new WhatsApp NUFC channel to bring the latest news, analysis and team & injury updates directly to your phone. Simply click this link to join our NUFC WhatsApp channel.
Football is BACK - subscribe to our Newcastle United newsletter for all the news straight to your inbox
A ‘big opportunity’ for William Osula?
Isak’s absence, Gordon’s suspension and Osula’s goal off the bench against Liverpool puts the Danish forward in contention to start his first Premier League game for Newcastle at Leeds on Saturday.
When asked about the striker situation, Howe said: “If you do the maths, we're running out of options in that position. But again, I have to look at positives. When I'm sat here now in this moment, I can't go to the negative world.
“Will Osula came on today, scored a goal, did well. I'm very pleased with him. So it's a big opportunity potentially for him.”
Howe could also hand out full debuts to Malick Thiaw and Jacob Ramsey in the absence of Schar, Tonali and Joelinton.
Thiaw and Ramsey came off the bench for the closing stages against Liverpool, initially helping the side find an equaliser before Liverpool’s late winner.
“Yes, I thought they both did well and I think that's the big moment for them because I think you only truly feel part of the club when you play as a player.