Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has revealed the latest update on Alexander Isak’s fitness ahead of the weekend trip to Everton in the Premier League.
The Magpies have been without their influential striker since last month’s 3-1 loss at Fulham due to a broken toe, with the former Real Sociedad star missing the draw with Manchester City and the rescheduled Carabao Cup third-round win over AFC Wimbledon.
Isak had been suffering with the issue ahead of that game at Craven Cottage, having also been forced off at half-time of the preceding 2-1 win over Wolves following an eye issue and a bloodied nose sustained at Molineux.
The 25-year-old was on Thursday left out of Jon Dahl Tomasson’s Sweden squad to contest upcoming Nations League trips to Slovakia and Estonia, while Howe has now confirmed that he will also remain unavailable to Newcastle for Saturday evening’s trip to meet Everton at Goodison Park.
The same is true of England’s Callum Wilson, who has not played at all so far this season due to a back injury, leaving Newcastle once again notably short on strikers for the visit to Merseyside.
Anthony Gordon will likely operate as the central forward option once more against Everton after thriving in the role against City and both earning and converting the controversial second-half penalty that secured a hard-fought draw against the defending top-flight champions at St James’ Park.
Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of his pre-match press conference on Friday morning, Howe said on Isak: “Yeah, he won’t make the game tomorrow, but we hope he will be back after the international break.
“We hope the same with Callum, so potentially good news around the corner with those two. They are such important players for us.”
Isak and Wilson are not the only players currently battling injuries for Newcastle ahead of their final match before the October international break, with the likes of Sven Botman, Jamaal Lascelles, Lewis Miley, Matt Targett and Kieran Trippier all sidelined of late.
However, Howe has insisted that centre-back Fabian Schar should be fit to face Everton following an injury scare that followed his match-winning penalty against AFC Wimbledon in midweek. It’s a similar case for Nick Pope, though fellow goalkeeper Martin Dubravka has a knee issue.
