Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak will both miss out this week (Picture: Getty Images)
Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak will miss Newcastle’s trip to Nottingham Forest on Saturday due to injury, but Callum Wilson ‘looks good’ after his return last week, says Eddie Howe.
Gordon has an ankle problem and Isak is suffering with a groin issue, so neither will feature at the City Ground in the late kick-off on Saturday.
On the former Everton winger, who came off at half-time in the 4-4 draw with Luton last weekend, Howe told a press conference on Friday: ‘He hasn’t trained this week.
‘But we don’t think the injury is serious. We’re hopeful he’ll be back sooner rather than later.’
He added on the Swedish striker: ‘Alex won’t make this game. We hope he won’t be too far away but he doesn’t have a fixed return date. He’s making good progress.’
Wilson replaced Gordon during that crazy draw with the Hatters and the England international is returning to full fitness.
‘He’s trained well this week and we’ve been pleased with him,’ Howe said of Wilson. ‘I thought he did well last week with a 45 minute cameo. He was thrust back into action but he looks good and is getting his sharpness back.’
Callum Wilson came off the bench in Newcastle’s draw with Luton (Picture: Getty Images)
More long-term injury issues for the Magpies are Joe Willock and Elliot Anderson but Howe had positive news about the pair, who are closing in on returns.
‘They’re doing well at this moment in time,’ he said. ‘Joe is working really hard with the sports science team. He’s at the final stage of his rehab. Elliot isn’t far away either. He’s really picked up his running.’
It has been a nightmare season for Newcastle on the injury front, with the likes of Nick Pope and Joelinton sidelined for the majority of the rest of the season, while the club has also been dealing with Sandro Tonali’s betting ban.
However, there was good news last week as Harvey Barnes returned from injury, coming off the bench and scoring against Luton.
‘He’s worked incredibly hard,’ said Howe of the summer signing from Leicester. ‘He’s had a lot of frustration because he was working hard but was feeling sensations in his foot.
‘What a finish that was. He only had a small part of the goal to aim for and he finished it brilliantly. That moment summed up what we’ve missed. We haven’t had those options.’
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