Liverpool will made the trip to St James' Park to face Newcastle on Monday nightplaceholder image
Liverpool will made the trip to St James' Park to face Newcastle on Monday night | Getty Images
The latest Liverpool and Newcastle United injury and availability news ahead of their clash on Monday.
The Reds will enter the lions’ den that is St James’ Park on Monday, packed with a frustrated Toon Army who are still in limbo over the Alexander Isak situation. Their star striker is yet to feature this season and continues to train separately from the rest of the team.
Isak added a new layer to this transfer saga when he posted a statement on Instagram, writing that promises had been ‘broken’ and his relationship with the club ‘can’t continue’.
The striker will not feature against Liverpool on Monday but neither Eddie Howe nor the Newcastle board have ruled out an eventual reunion with Isak.
Liverpool latest injury news
Arne Slot has confirmed he will be without Jeremie Frimpong for Monday’s clash. The medical team noticed a problem with his hamstring, which led to him being brought off against Bournemouth in their Premier League opener.
Conor Bradley may also be unavailable, having only trained ‘for a few minutes’ on Thursday. This could leave Slot with no natural right-back to face Newcastle, while Joe Gomez has also missed training for three consecutive days. Slot has said he will need to wait and see where the 28-year-old is at on Monday before making a decision.
Should all three defenders be unavailable, Slot has hinted at starting either Dominik Szoboszlai or Wataru Endo at right-back to face the Magpies.
Ryan Gravenberch has served his card suspension and will be available to face Newcastle on Monday.
Players out for Liverpool: Jeremie Frimpong
Players in doubt for Liverpool: Conor Bradley, Joe Gomez
Newcastle latest injury news, including Alexander Isak availability
Along with updating the media on his squad’s fitness, Howe addressed the elephant in the room that is Isak’s absence from the team.
While confirming the Swede will not be available to face Liverpool, the Magpies boss addressed Isak’s social media statement, and the follow-up response the club gave.
"It was a sad moment. My preference is these things do not happen publicly. They are better dealt with behind closed doors. But needs must. The club has spoken, and justifiably so in that moment,” Howe said in his press conference.
"He’s contracted to us. He’s our player. My wish is that he would be playing on Monday. He won’t be, and that’s regrettable. But 100 percent I want him back in a Newcastle shirt.”
New signing Jacob Ramsey will be available to face the Reds, while Joe Willock has returned to training and is ‘looking good’ ahead of the clash. It will likely come down to a late fitness test to determine whether Willock is ready to be selected or not.
“Joe trained on Tuesday and Wednesday and trained really well. When he went down in the game [in Korea] I thought he was going to be out longer term, it didn't look good. Credit to him, he's got back fit and looking good,” Howe said.
Players out for Newcastle: Alexander Isak
Players in doubt for Newcastle: Joe Willock (could return based on late fitness green light)
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