Newcastle United will travel down to the King Power Stadium for their Premier League clash against Leicester City tomorrow evening and Eddie Howe has fitness issues to address.
The Magpies return to action away from home tomorrow evening to continue their push for Champions League qualification, with the race for the European spots wide open over the remaining fixtures.
Newcastle have a game-in-hand over their competitors, including Chelsea, Manchester City, and Aston Villa, among others, who are vying for a spot in Europe next season, so taking all three points from the King Power will be crucial.
The North East giants are currently 7th in the Premier League table but could climb as high as 5th, depending on the outcome of the Manchester derby and their own performance against the struggling Foxes.
Eddie Howe will be under no illusions that his squad have some serious work to do in the remaining few weeks of the season to put the cherry on top of a historic campaign, despite already qualifying for Conference League football at the very least.
Leicester are having a torrid time of late, setting a new record in the Premier League with seven consecutive defeats tallied up, and are almost certain for relegation as they drift further from safety, 15 points shy of Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The Newcastle boss will be keen to capitalise on their opponents’ plight on Monday night, and there is no reason why it shouldn’t be a comfortable victory if Newcastle can bring their renowned quality to the East Midlands.
What is the status on Newcastle United injuries?
Newcastle are contending with a few injury concerns and will be further assessing some crucial players ahead of their clash with Leicester, which is not ideal given the fine margins they are working to for their Champions League ambitions.
Nevertheless, here are the updates on all injuries following Howe’s pre-match press conference on Friday:
Alexander Isak
After the Swedish striker was hooked in the game against Brentford, Howe voiced some concern over a reoccurring groin issue that his goal-scorer has been suffering with on and off over the season.
The Newcastle boss then took to his pre-match press conference to give a new update and insight into Isak’s potential return against Leicester:
“Speaking on my behalf, as a very injury-prone player, if you look at my record, that’s an injury-prone player! Alex certainly isn’t.”
“He’s had issues with a groin problem that tends to rear its head every now and again. It came to the fore just before we played Liverpool but, with rest, he was fine and good to go and played really well in the cup final.”
“For whatever reason, it did just resurface before Brentford. It’s a very minor problem that will go away quite quickly.”
Isak is expected back for Leicester City.
Anthony Gordon
The plucky winger has not been seen since he was sent off for violent conduct in the FA Cup defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion at the beginning of last month, serving a three-match suspension.
The England international consequently missed out on the Carabao Cup final and following international break, served his third and final ban in the victory over Brentford on Wednesday evening.
However, he did endure a knock to his hip that sent him home from England camp earlier during the World Cup qualifiers, which left supporters concerned about his availability going forward.
The Newcastle manager has now addressed concerns, but has revealed that Gordon hasn’t trained with the first team:
“No, he hasn’t [trained yet],”
“He’s another one that we’re monitoring. We think he’s still recovering from the really, really bad knock he got for England, which still got a huge bruising on his leg.
“He’s done individual training. He’s not done group training. He’s still not feeling 100% pain-free. So, again, let’s wait and see.”
A late fitness test is likely to determine whether he will be available tomorrow evening.
Kieran Trippier
The veteran right-back, like Isak, was hooked in the 89th minute limping off the pitch against Brentford.
Following the clash at St James’ Park, Howe revealed:
“He was just feeling, he said it was like a cramp sensation in his groin,”
“So we hope it’s nothing serious.”
Trippier is expected to return tomorrow night against Leicester. but is likely to undergo a late fitness test.
Joelinton
After needing on-field treatment against the Bees on Wednesday, the Brazilian midfielder was hooked in the second-half.
Howe responded to concerns about Joelinton’s fitness and questions about his availability for Leicester in his pre-match press conference:
“We hope so, yeah. He’d be another one in the category that’s got a niggle, but knowing Joey, he’ll probably say he’s fine today and good to train. So we’d have to manage him and we’d have to look after him and try and navigate the next few days.”
Like Gordon and Trippier, Joelinton will likely undergo a late fitness test to determine whether he will be in contention to start on Monday.
Sven Botman
The Dutch defender has not been seen since Newcastle progressed to the Carabao Cup final against Arsenal at St James’ Park – almost two months ago.
Howe confirmed that Botman would undergo surgery after weeks of absence and would need a timeframe of around eight weeks to recover.
The Newcastle boss spoke on Tuesday – ahead of Brentford – about the defender’s recovery:
“He’s had an operation, a very minor operation, just to clean out a bit of floating bone that was in his knee that was causing him the problem.”
“I think the initial diagnosis was between six to eight weeks, but I think he’s already got through two or three of those. So he’s on the road. He’s feeling good. Fingers crossed we’ll see him probably in May sometime.”
Botman is expected back against Brighton and Hove Albion at the beginning of May.
Jamaal Lascelles
The club captain has not been seen for over a year in a Newcastle matchday squad after suffering with an ACL injury and undergoing surgery to repair it.
While the recovery is usually between nine months and a year, it does not like Lascelles will be seen again this season in black and white stripes as he continues to fight for fitness.
On Tuesday, Howe revealed:
“I don’t know whether we’ll see Jamaal before the end of the season,”
“I don’t really want to set a target on his time to return. I think he has started very light training with the squad, but that would be light, not necessarily in competitive drills, but on the drills that are non-competitive he has joined in and he’s looked really good. Small steps for him.”
“We’re hoping that he can definitely be joining in and competing in training before the end of the season. Whether that ties in with the team or whether he gets there in time, let’s wait and see for competitive action. But he’s a big player.”
Lewis Hall
The left-back has been one of the most promising up and coming talents in the Premier League this season, deservedly earning a spot in the England squad in 2024 following his outstanding contributions on Tyneside.
Sadly, Hall has been ruled out with a foot injury for the rest of the season after receiving surgery to repair the damage.
