After a tiring season of close to 50 competitive games, it’s no surprise that a number of our top players have been dealing with fatigue and niggling injuries.
And with a number of Magpies heading on international duty so soon after the end of the season, it’s been revealed that one star in particular is still dealing with a minor injury, despite featuring in our final day game against Everton.
Although it’s only a minor injury, it should be enough of a warning sign for Eddie Howe and the club hierarchy to re-evalute their transfer priorities ahead of a big summer window.
Newcastle striker Alexander Isak will not feature for Sweden in their upcoming international friendlies against Hungary and Albania.
The Swedish FA released a statement on Tuesday stating that Isak is currently sidelined due to a minor injury concern, which could explain his poor display on Sunday.
In their statement, the FA revealed: “Alexander Isak withdraws from the upcoming national team training camp. National team coach Jon Dahl Tomasson calls up Jordan Larsson, FC Copenhagen, and Gustaf Nilsson, Club Brugge, to the squad.”
“After the weekend, however, it is clear that Newcastle striker Alexander Isak will be forced to withdraw due to a minor injury.”
Isak had featured for the full 90 minutes against Everton on the final day, but was notably absent against Arsenal the week before due to injury.
Newcastle can expect to play close to 60 competitive games across all competitions next season, owing to projected cup runs and how far we go in the Champions League.
Isak will also likely play for his national team as the Swedes will want him at his best if they stand any chance of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
So should a back up striker be the new top priority for our recruitment team this summer?
From here, our fixtures will only become more frequent and high stakes, and we will need to provide Isak with sufficient rest if we want to avoid risking him getting injured at the worst possible times, like on multiple occasions this season.
This could be the catalyst for us to truly accelerate our pursuits for a prolific goalscorer like Liam Delap or Bryan Mbeumo: someone dependable in front of goal who we can both rotate and have Isak play alongside.