Alexander Isak
Alexander Isak
Newcastle United are sweating over the fitness of star striker Alexander Isak ahead of their crucial Premier League clash with Everton on Sunday.
The Swedish frontman missed last weekend’s 1-0 defeat at Arsenal with a groin issue. He had travelled to North London but after feeling some discomfort in his groin at the team hotel was left out of the matchday squad.
In his absence, Newcastle slipped to a single goal defeat, having missed a number of first-half chances before being contained more comfortably in the second period. Callum Wilson led the line in Isak's absence, before being replaced by Will Osula late in the game.
Newcastle are desperate to have their top scorer back available on Sunday. A win at St James' Park will guarantee Champions League qualification but anything else could open the door for the chasing pack, with Chelsea, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest breathing down their neck.
Isak is reported to only be 50-50 for this weekend. Newcastle released a series of training pictures yesterday and the 25-year-old was not on any of the images.
Eddie Howe will brief the media this morning about Isak's condition. When asked after the Arsenal game if Isak would be fit to face Everton, he had been reluctant to make any prediction, saying: “I don't know at this moment in time. He only felt pain really after training.
“He felt fine during training and then just a bit of stiffness, so he went for a scan this morning [Sunday], purely as a precaution.”
Isak has been named in Sweden's squad for their upcoming games against Hungary and Algeria. The matches take place a fortnight after the season finale.
There had been concerns that the forward would need surgery on his groin issue, which has plagued him the last few months. However, Howe has played that down, saying: "It is certainly something that needs looking at as to why he's getting groin complaints. But it is definitely not a surgery issue, it's what is he doing to strengthen that area, which we will look at and focus on."
Howe will also give an update on the fitness of a number of other key players. Kieran Trippier has missed the last two matches and wasn't pictured in the training gallery, while Sven Botman has had ongoing issues with his knee, but managed to play an hour against Arsenal and has trained this week.
Joelinton was thought to be out for the rest of the season with a knee complaint but could make an appearance in the final game of the campaign.