Nottingham Forest v Newcastle United injury latest as 13 sidelined and three doubts

Newcastle United are back in action this Friday night when they take on relegation-battling Nottingham Forest.

The Magpies got back on track in their bid to land Champions League football last weeekend, seeing off Wolves with a narrow home win. Eddie Howe’s men ended a run of five games without a win across all competitions, and they now sit four points behind fourth-placed Tottenham with two games in hand.

At the bottom of the division, Forest have been sucked right back into the thick of the relegation battle after a surprisingly fruitful week for many of the struggling sides last weekend. Steve Cooper’s men are now just two points above the dotted line, and they know they still have plenty of work to do if they want to survive.

Ahead of Friday night’s clash at the City Ground, Newcastle boss Howe has issued the latest on his side’s fitness, confirming Anthony Gordon will miss out.

“It was a strange one because after the game (at Man City) there was no sign of an injury. It’s one of those that got worse on the day of the game, it was from a tackle, and when he came in, it was swollen up,” he said. “He had a scan and we were hoping we could get away with it and he would be alright, but unfortunately not. He’ll probably miss two games (including the win over Wolves), and I’m not sure whether he’ll be back after the international break. We hope so, but that’s not 100 percent certain.”

Elsewhere, Emil Krafth is out long term, while Joelinton is suspended for this one. Howe has also hinted at further absences, but he did not mention names, saying: “We hope to have the majority available.”

As for Forest, Taiwo Awoniyi remains out, while Chris Wood is also out after picking up an injury last weekend but is also ineligible to face his parent club. Wayne Hennessey is a doubt, also picking up an injury last weekend.

Midfielder Gustavo Scarp is also unlikely to feature after missing the last few games. He lost almost £1m in a cryptocurrency scam and has returned to Brazil to try and resolve the matter. Meanwhile Omar Richards, Willy Boly, Scott McKenna, Dean Henderson and Giulian Biancone are all out with long-term issues.