ยท 14 July 2025, 18:30
**Newcastle United have headed to Austria for a pre-season training camp up in the mountains before their friendly at Celtic Park on Saturday.**
Will Osula, who is keeping up his role as head of club communications, posted a few videos to his Snapchat of the lads on the plane.
While we were all laughing at [Osula's video ripping it out of Joe Willock and his pink carry-on bag](https://nufcfeed.com/newcastle-united-friendly-teased-as-will-osula-posts-video-of-toons-brazilian-boys-on-flight-to-austria-1439588), and getting excited over seeing the return of Bruno Guimaraes, we missed one very important point.
There was absolutely no sign of Alexander Isak. Obviously, Osula didn't walk up and down the plane showing everybody on board, but Isak's lack of presence goes along with his absence from the 4-0 win over Carlisle, too.
> [](https://twitter.com/NUFC/status/1944706761287495728)
Alexander Isak hasn't been spotted in pre-season yet
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Isak withdrew from Sweden's end-of-season matches in June as he was still struggling with a groin issue, so he wouldn't have been afforded extra time off on that basis.
It does suggest that perhaps the injury was worse than first feared, and perhaps, if we want to get deep into some doom-mongering, he may have undergone surgery.
The striker has been relatively quiet all summer, although he did appear in the promotional material for the kit launches.
Alexander Isak's absence is definitely going to be spun by the media as a sign he's heading elsewhere
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With all of the rumours around a move to Liverpool, the longer Isak goes unseen at Newcastle, the stronger those rumours will get.
That's not to say we have any belief that Isak's absence is anything to do with a potential move to Anfield, just that it makes it very easy for the media to spin that yarn. Hell, they've run with less to try and make that point.
If Isak hasn't travelled to Austria, then we highly doubt we'll see him in action against Celtic on Saturday, unless he is making his own way there later this week.