Evening Standard
·1 November 2024
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·1 November 2024
Eddie Howe is sweating on the fitness of two key forwards as Gunners head to St James’ Park in Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off
Newcastle duo Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon will both be assessed ahead of Saturday's Premier League clash against Arsenal.
Isak, who scored in the 2-0 Carabao Cup victory over Chelsea on Wednesday night, hobbled off in the second half after suffering a knock to his leg, while Gordon was also substituted having returned to action after sitting out the top-flight defeat at the hands of the Blues at Stamford Bridge last weekend because of a groin issue.
Isak and Gordon are responsible for four of the Magpies' nine league goals so far this season and it's no surprise that manager Eddie Howe is keen to have both available for selection.
However, the Newcastle boss admitted that he will have to make final checks on the pair before deciding whether to include them in his matchday squad for the visit of the Gunners to Tyneside.
Injury doubts: Newcastle will hope to have both Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak fit to face Arsenal
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“I think they (Gordon and Isak) both feel okay, but it’s one of those where we’ll have to assess how they feel today,” Howe said during Friday’s pre-match press conference. "Sometimes, after 48 hours you can feel different to 24 hours.
“It’s not necessarily a straight line with how the body feels. They both had niggling injuries – Alex had his toe, Anthony’s had a groin – so we’ll make a decision today.
“We’ve got a couple of knocks coming out of Wednesday night. They’re just general fatigue really, game fatigue. It was a good, physical game against Chelsea – both games, on the Sunday and the Wednesday, were intense matches.
“It’s just normal fatigue you get 24 or 48 hours after a game, but we need to make sure that whoever enters the pitch against Arsenal is in their best condition.”
Howe has confirmed that Callum Wilson will certainly miss the lunchtime kick-off at St James’ Park as the Newcastle striker is not yet ready to return from a hamstring issue.
Defenders Jamaal Lascelles, Sven Botman and Kieran Trippier are all still out, while Jacob Murphy missed the Carabao Cup win over Chelsea with a slight hamstring problem.
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