Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe has given an insight into the injury concerns ahead of their Premier League clash with Liverpool tomorrow evening.
The Magpies will be back at St James’ Park tomorrow night in a quick turnaround of fixtures after their disappointing draw with Crystal Palace at the weekend and there will be hope that the home support will have something to cheer about.
After what seemed like finding their confidence and form against Chelsea, Arsenal and Nottingham Forest, the international break has brought the Geordies back down to earth with a crash landing, collecting just one point from their last two league outings.
Newcastle are now 11th in the Premier League table, four points shy of Manchester City in fifth, but luckily there is plenty of time to make up for poor performances and wasted opportunities as of yet.
The clear goal for the North East giants is to qualify for European football ahead of next season which would see them needing at the very least a seventh-place finish from their current campaign.
However, with plenty of competition battling for the few spots available, they must start tallying up important points.
A clash with Liverpool presents a worrying prospect for supporters, as the Merseysiders are in formidable form and currently nine points clear at the top of the tree, with only one defeat recorded in all competitions under Arne Slot so far.
Finding ways to expose the individual brilliance in the team tomorrow night will be absolutely imperative for Howe, essential for breaking down Liverpool’s incredible threat in front of goal and countering it where possible.
The Newcastle boss has been speaking in his pre-match press conference this morning about the injury concerns for the Swedish star striker Alexander Isak:
“He took a knock to his hip and wasn’t able to carry on. We haven’t seen him in training yet,” he said.
“We don’t think it’s a long-term injury. We’ll see (re Liverpool). It will be about pain management.”
The manager’s comments come after Isak did an interview yesterday, where the player seemingly confirmed he was fit to face Liverpool as per beIN Sports presenter Andy Kerr, who posted this on X:
Exclusive: Alexander Isak is fit to face #Liverpool
Sat down with the Swedish striker today for @beINSPORTS_EN.
He also said he felt humbled by the @worflags display before the West Ham game and wants to give the #nufc fans something back. pic.twitter.com/LmGzodV4zF— Andy Kerr (@AndyKerrtv) December 2, 2024
Will Alexander Isak start against Liverpool?
There is no doubt that Isak would be the ideal attacking threat to unleash against Liverpool, but there is an incredibly congested fixture list heading into Christmas and New Year.
Indeed, Howe would be foolish to leave Isak on the bench if he is fit and ready to play against the visiting Reds on Wednesday night, but at the risk of aggravating an existing injury could be a huge risk for future games.
Newcastle will face Brentford in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in a fortnight, and ensuring they can comfortably progress in the cup competition will be of high importance to both the supporters and the manager in this troubling period of form for the team.
The Magpies will also be away to the Bees this coming weekend as well, so there is a lot to think about for Howe when managing the fitness and rotation of his squad in the coming weeks.
Callum Wilson has just returned from injury and there is no reason why he won’t be available, that we know of, to cover the role should Isak fall short of getting ready in time for Liverpool and new signing William Osula could also feature at some point too.
With that being said, it will be interesting to see if Isak does start tomorrow night as he would be the most threatening opponent available to Howe to disturb Liverpool’s defence.
