Eddie Howe says he ‘felt it was best to withdraw’ William Osula from Newcastle’s squad ahead of their 2-2 draw with Athletic Club, as there were concerns over whether the forward was fully fit after dealing with an ankle problem in recent weeks.
The Magpies secured a third victory of their Champions League campaign on Wednesday night thanks to a pair of headers from Dan Burn and Joelinton, but it came at a cost.
The St James' Park side were forced to substitute Antony Gordon in the first half, with the England international suffering a recurrence of the hip injury that has been troubling him in recent weeks.
While Howe refused to speculate on the severity of the injury, Gordon is now a major doubt for their trip to Brentford at the weekend, while Osula’s fitness will also be closely assessed ahead of the Premier League fixture.
Newcastle opted to withdraw the 22-year-old from the squad during the warm-up on Wednesday, despite Osula featuring for 45 minutes in their 3-1 loss to West Ham last weekend.
Eddie Howe Shares Latest on William Osula
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Howe, speaking in his post-match press conference, said Newcastle had been in discussions with Osula in recent days over his ankle problems and concluded it was ‘best to withdraw’ the 22-year-old from the squad for their 2-2 draw with Athletic:
“We’ve just been in discussions with him at length about his ankle in the last few days, as to whether he’s fit enough to actually perform to the level that we need and that he’s comfortable with.
“After a discussion, we felt it was best to withdraw him and try to get his ankle 100% right.”
Osula has been a regular under Howe this term, featuring in all of Newcastle’s 10 Premier League games and scoring once in the 3-2 loss to Liverpool in September.
The Denmark U21 international also netted twice in Newcastle’s 4-1 win over Bradford in the Carabao Cup and registered an assist in their 4-0 win against Union SG in the Champions League last month.
Osula has seen an increase in playing time amid Newcastle’s persistent injury problems, with summer signing Yoane Wissa yet to feature since his arrival from Brentford.
The forward remains unavailable after picking up a knee injury in early September and is unlikely to feature in Newcastle’s visit to Brentford on Sunday, their final game before November’s international break.