Newcastle were missing key man Callum Wilson from training as they made their final preparations to face Brighton in the Premier League on Thursday evening.
Wilson was missing from the club's final training session on Wednesday, with this suggesting that the England striker is a doubt for the match against Brighton. The former Bournemouth striker has been in great form of late, scoring seven goals in his last five matches and could now miss out.
The Magpies currently sit third in the Premier League, with one point separating them from Liverpool in fifth place. Tonight is Eddie Howe's side's game in hand, meaning that a defeat would leave them under serious threat from Jurgen Klopp's side, who have won seven matches in a row and host Aston Villa on Saturday.
Brighton also have an outside chance of reaching the top four, with a win at St James's Park potentially bringing Roberto De Zerbi's side to within five points of Newcastle with a game in hand. This means that Howe will be keen to have all players fit and available for a match from which a win could go a long way towards sealing Champions League football for next season.
Wilson has been played as part of a striking partnership with Alexander Isak in recent weeks, with the duo linking together superbly to score a combined 14 goals since the start of April, albeit with Wilson scoring ten of those. This leaves Howe with the likelihood of having to bring Allan St Maximin into the side.
Speaking on Thursday, Howe did not reveal any injury problems for Wilson, but the Magpies star was not pictured in training. However, this does not necessarily mean that he will be missing the match, as his previous injury record could mean that Newcastle are managing the 31-year-old's workload after a superb run of form.
At his press conference ahead of the match, Howe was asked about injuries, revealing a problem for Sean Longstaff. When asked about his chances of featuring he replied: "I think we're quite clear on the injury, it's just how long it takes to heal," said Howe. "He made good progress yesterday, but he won't be involved."
The Newcastle head coach also revealed that Jacob Murphy would be missing, with the winger being the only other absentee from the match, with no mention of Wilson. He added: "Jacob is probably the one doubt we have."
