Newcastle United have been boosted by the returns of Joelinton and Alexander Isak from injury absences.

Joelinton had been out for a month with a knee injury while Isak missed the 2-0 defeat at Liverpool before both returned for the FA Cup fifth-round clash against Brighton & Hove Albion at St James’ Park on Sunday. Although Newcastle lost the game 2-1 and both players were withdrawn before extra time, both are expected to be available for the upcoming matches.

Newcastle travel to the London Stadium to play West Ham United next Monday (8pm kick-off) before facing Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, March 16 (4:30pm kick-off). The Magpies have several concerns heading into the upcoming games with Anthony Gordon ruled out due to a three-match suspension, Jamaal Lascelles out with an ACL injury while Sven Botman and Lewis Hall are doubts with respective knee and ankle problems.

Joelinton played 56 minutes of Newcastle’s FA Cup defeat to Brighton on Sunday before being replaced by Joe Willock in what was a pre-planned change made by head coach Eddie Howe. The Brazilian had missed Newcastle’s previous five matches after going off against Fulham last month with a knee issue.

“Yeah I think [Joelinton] is okay,” Howe told The Gazette. “I planned for him to play around 60 minutes today, that was his maximum with the training that he's had but I thought he looked physically really good today.”

Joelinton had only just returned to training for Newcastle ahead of Sunday’s match against Brighton but will now have a week to recover and prepare for the Premier League match at West Ham. Despite recovering from injury, the 28-year-old remains at risk of a two-match ban in the Premier League as he is just one booking away from suspension.

Unlike red card suspensions, yellow card suspensions apply only to the competition in which they were received. So Joelinton would not be suspended for the Carabao Cup final if he were to be booked against West Ham but would miss the following Premier League matches against Brentford and Leicester City.

Alexander Isak withdrawn v Brighton

There were murmurs around St James’ Park when Isak went down shortly after Gordon’s red card against Brighton and ultimately ended up being substituted. Any major concerns of a fresh injury for Newcastle’s top scorer were promptly played down by Howe in his post-match press conference.

Explaining Isak’s substitution, Howe said: “Alex just felt a bit of general tightness, I don't think an injury, but just general tightness, felt he had to come off.

“I don't think there's a problem there. But as I said before the game, if he was fit he would play today, knowing the importance of today's game and fingers crossed he's okay.”

Newcastle will be hoping to call upon Isak once again at West Ham following his brace at the London Stadium last season. The striker has scored 22 goals for The Magpies in all competitions so far this season and is closing in on his 25 goal total from last season heading into the final months of the 2024-25 campaign.

His fitness and availability will be vital to Newcastle ahead of the Carabao Cup final and final run of fixtures in the Premier League.

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