Despite being named in the latest England squad, Newcastle United’s Anthony Gordon (£7.5m) is a big doubt for Sunday’s trip to Brentford.
The winger came off in the first half of their midweek win over Athletic Club, as his hip problem reoccurred.
Speaking at Friday’s press conference, Eddie Howe said there is “every chance” that Gordon will miss Gameweek 11 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
“It seems like a recurrence of his hip injury that’s been plaguing him in recent weeks. So, we’ll assess that and see what damage he’s done.
“We don’t think it’s a serious injury but we’re going to get him scanned and we’re awaiting the results.
“Yeah, I think there’s every chance he might miss out on Sunday but we’ll give him every opportunity to be fit.” – Eddie Howe on Anthony Gordon
Meanwhile, Will Osula (£5.5m) has been advised to take a period of rest to deal with his bothersome ankle problem.
“It’s something that he’s been feeling for a little bit but he’s been functional, he’s been able to train and play. But it was getting to the stage where it was affecting him a little bit more, latterly.
“We had a scan and we were awaiting the results, tied in with the game, and the scan just told us to pull back a little bit, so he’ll have a period of rest. Again, it’s not a serious injury. We expect him to be weeks, not any longer.” – Eddie Howe on Will Osula
Yoane Wissa (£7.3m, knee) has joined Tino Livramento (£4.9m, knee) in returning to the grass this week. His Magpies debut should come soon after the international break.
“Yoane is working well. He’s on the grass, he’s building his fitness. I think the knee is feeling good, no problems with that. It’s more a case of looking at his fitness, sharpness, all the things that he’s going to need to put together.
“He’s in a good place injury-wise now to really kick on and push his body but we are going to need to give him time to get fit and robust enough, and in a position where he can give his best version of himself for the team. How long that takes is slightly unclear but I’m sure he’ll be worth the wait.” – Eddie Howe on Yoane Wissa
“I don’t think [the absence of Wissa, Osula and possibly Gordon] will change anything. Yes, we don’t have a lot of support for him, and that’s why I think he’s done very, very well because the focus has been purely on him, and he’s had to take that in his stride. He’s done that really well, big credit to him for that.
“It’s up to us to protect him and look after him whenever we can, try to withdraw him a couple of times to keep him fresh and keep his energy.” – Eddie Howe on how the striker injuries will impact Nick Woltemade
Elsewhere, an injury-free Lewis Hall (£5.2m) made it off the bench in midweek. His first appearance in over a month.
“He’s closer [to a return to the starting XI], definitely. I think it was a really good cameo from Lewis. We have to remember he’s had very, very limited training time so I have to be careful with him. Of course, he’s very much in my thoughts because of the quality of player that he is, but he’s had a difficult period in the last few months.
“He’s such an important player, we need him fit for the long term.” – Eddie Howe on Lewis Hall
Howe also confirmed that the recent illness outbreak has now subsided.
defensive contributions