The Magpies striker played on through the pain barrier on Sunday
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Alexander Isak of Newcastle United
Alexander Isak of Newcastle United(Image: Getty Images)
Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak has withdrawn from Sweden's national team squad for the June internationals.
Isak was due to play for Sweden in friendly fixtures against Hungary and Algeria but will now face a summer of rest.
Isak had been struggling with a groin issue which forced him out of the recent trip to Arsenal. However, he fought back to train last week and played through the pain barrier for the 1-0 loss to Everton.
A Sweden FA statement read: "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 match Newcastle head coach Howe spoke about Isak's commitment to the black and white cause for the last game and how he'd made it clear he wanted to play his part in the Champions League quest.
Howe said: "He trained yesterday - for me, that's the day that he had to train to be fit and available. He hadn't missed a lot of football, it was a week, really, that he'd missed.
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"Whenever a player has missed even that small amount of time, you lose a little bit of sharpness in your game and think that was possibly the case.
"But credit to him, he made himself available, he wanted to play, he wanted to make the difference. He had a couple of chances in the game, so I was just very pleased that he was so desperate to play."
Newcastle will look to ease the burden on Isak this summer by bringing in a new striker. The transfer recruitment will see United target a player who can provide back-up for the Swedish star with Newcastle embarking on a Champions League campaign and a lot more matches.
Liam Delap has been mentioned as a potential recruit. Newcastle have not ruled out a new deal for Callum Wilson either, with negotiations ongoing over the out-of-contract star.
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