Newcastle United official training ground update as Alexander Isak stance made clear ahead of Brighton
Eddie Howe is ‘hopeful’ Newcastle United won’t have to deal with being without Alexander Isak in their upcoming matches.
Isak was left out of the Newcastle squad at Liverpool with a groin issue and is a doubt for Sunday’s match against Brighton & Hove Albion in the FA Cup on Sunday. While Howe stressed that Isak ‘will play’ if fit, there was some uncertainty around the striker’s condition heading into the weekend.
The striker returned to the Newcastle training ground on Friday to speak to Howe for the first time since his injury absence and be assessed ahead of the Brighton match.
The club’s stance is that they won’t risk Isak a fortnight before the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool. The understanding is that the 25-year-old’s issue is not a serious one as Howe gave some insight into how the injury came about.
“No, it was after the [Nottingham Forest] game,” Howe explained. “The day after the game, he felt absolutely fine, no problems.
“Then it was the second day [Tuesday], which can sometimes happen in the players' bodies, where he just felt a bit stiff.
“So he woke up and just didn't feel 100% right. And from there, it was pretty clear on the matchday [at Liverpool] that he wouldn't play.”
The Liverpool game saw Newcastle fail to register a shot on target and extend an unwanted stat of failing to score from open play against Premier League opposition without Isak in the side this season. Anthony Gordon’s penalty against Manchester City is the only goal Newcastle have scored in the three league games Isak has missed due to injury this season.
The last Newcastle player to score from open play without Isak in the side was Matt Ritchie in a 2-2 draw with AFC Bournemouth last February.
Isak’s importance to Newcastle is obvious with his 21 goals in 30 appearances so far this season. And Howe is hopeful his side won’t have to deal with being without Isak heading into the business end of the season.
“Hopefully we don't have that dilemma [of being without Isak],” Howe said. “But if we do, I'm sure we have the players that are capable of fixing that problem.
“Now, whether that's me looking at something tactically or however we do it, we still have some very, very good players within the squad.”
Isak’s absence on Wednesday night saw Callum Wilson come into the side for his first Premier League start of the season. It also prompted a tactical reshuffle which saw Anthony Gordon play in a more central position with Joe Willock out wide.
These are all things for Howe to consider heading into Sunday’s FA Cup fifth round tie at St James’ Park (1:45pm kick-off).