Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has delivered an injury update on winger Anthony Gordon ahead of the crucial Carabao Cup clash against Chelsea tomorrow night.
The Magpies will return to action in the Carabao Cup this week, hosting their most recent Premier League opponents Chelsea at St James’ Park tomorrow evening.
Meeting for the second time in four days, Eddie Howe will be hoping that his team’s poor form in the top flight won’t translate into the domestic cup competition after losing 2-1 to the West Londoners at Stamford Bridge.
Newcastle have fallen to 12th in the Premier League table after failing to pick up a single victory in their last five league outings, and with concern building around their recent performances, Howe will need to immediately turn things around under the lights tomorrow if they are to progress in the knock-out competition.
After committing his future in a new long-term deal with the North East outfit last week, Anthony Gordon was not named in the squad that travelled to Stamford Bridge over the weekend due to a groin injury.
The 46-year-old Newcastle boss took to his pre-match press conference this morning ahead of the cup tie, to give an update on the 24-year-old winger’s current situation and gave an insight on his availability for the Chelsea clash at home:
“He has been for a scan, we’re hopeful the injury isn’t serious, we didn’t think it was when he initially did it. Let’s see how he is today.”
“It was in training, I think it was Friday, but it didn’t become necessarily obvious to us until Saturday.”
“Nothing serious, it’s one of those things you get from time to time that players can play with or not play with. He felt it was too much for him on Sunday to play.”
“There is (a chance he could feature) but we have to make the right decision, we have Arsenal coming up very quickly. It’s about making sure we do no further damage to him.”
Will Anthony Gordon feature against Chelsea?
There is a heavy focus on finishing in a European qualification spot this season for the Tynesiders, however, a healthy cup run would also take a lot of pressure off Howe if he could pull off a result on Wednesday evening.
The Newcastle boss will definitely feel deflated with not only the performances this season, but the lack of business done in the summer transfer window to ensure he had a healthy squad to pick from and rotate after such a tumultuous injury-ridden campaign last year.
Once hailed “unbelievable” by teammate Bruno Guimaraes, Gordon has been a revelation for the Geordies and has quickly become a favourite for the St James’ Park faithful.
Given the talented England international’s impact on the pitch, it would be a dream to have him on the left flank of the attacking threat tomorrow night, but if that comes at the cost of him not being fit to feature for an incredibly challenging Arsenal fixture in the league this coming weekend, would it be worth it?
A difficult decision lies ahead for Howe, but with the club’s current top-scorer Harvey Barnes available for selection and prolific on the left wing, it wouldn’t be the worst decision to rely on his quality on the left side, and make a decision on either Miguel Almiron or Jacob Murphy on the right.
With that being said, it will be interesting to see whether Howe prioritises the Carabao Cup clash with a strong side or whether he feels the weight of expectation in the Premier League, and instead rests some of his star players for when they host the Gunners on Saturday in the early kick off.