According to Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe, Harvey Barnes will be out until next month after suffering a thigh strain against Bromley.
The Magpies return to Premier League action tomorrow night under the lights at St James’ Park and Eddie Howe will be hopeful that his side can continue their incredible form.
Newcastle are currently fifth in the top-flight table and, depending on the results, will have a fantastic opportunity to break back into the top four before the business end of the campaign if they can take all three points from the clash with Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Wolves will be no walk-over though, as a victory for them would allow them to further distance themselves from the relegation at the other end of the table, and with a new manager in Vítor Pereira, they are in a great position to take points.
Newcastle chalked up another confident win over Bromley, however, it hasn’t been the easiest week for Howe as there have been various fitness issues and suspensions to influential first-team players.
Bruno Guimaraes and Fabian Schar both served a ban after tallying up too many yellow cards, whilst Alexander Isak has been a huge concern with a mild hamstring injury that has left his availability for the game against Wolves hanging in the balance.
On Isak, Sven Botman and Jacob Murphy, all of whom were omitted from the matchday squad on Sunday, Howe spoke in his pre-match press conference this morning to give further insight into their availability and fitness:
“They were left out with genuine reasons, all different things, but nothing major we hope.”
“So minor problems that we needed to settle down. Fingers crossed they’ll be there or thereabouts.”
Indeed, this is an encouraging from the manager as the trio play a key part in the recent success seen on Tyneside, however, it wasn’t all good news from the 45-year-old, as he delivered a blow to the attacking threat on Harvey Barnes:
“Harvey will be missing for a period of time. We don’t think it’s a serious injury but it’s enough to keep him out for a few weeks, we’re probably looking at around a month. That’s the early assessment. It’s an injury to the muscle in his thigh.”
Will Alexander Isak be back vs Wolves?
According to Premier League injuries expert Ben Dinnery, the Swedish striker will be subjected to a late fitness test ahead of the game with Wolves, but as the most crucial component to Newcastle’s attacking prowess, it is likely if he is ready, he will play.
The blow to Barnes isn’t ideal when Howe is trying to manage minutes in the congested fixture schedule, as Anthony Gordon is the most relied upon player on the left flank and will need to be at his best to help the team keep up with the pace of the Premier League.
Not only that, the Tynesiders have the little matter of their second-leg Carabao Cup semi-final clash with Arsenal at St James’ Park in the first week of February, so it is highly likely Howe will be keeping an eye on the minutes played in his trusted starters ahead of that important tie.
So losing Barnes is a blow in one aspect, but thankfully he has become more of a rotation asset than an integral starter for Newcastle, so he won’t be missed too much during his absence, as long as the team can maintain their high standards in the weeks ahead.