One of Liverpool’s upcoming opponents have been handed a significant injury blow ahead of their clash against the Reds.
Arne Slot’s side begin a busy December with a home clash against Manchester City later today, swiftly followed by a visit to St James’ Park to take on Newcastle on Wednesday night.
The Premier League leaders are set to be without several players for the trip to Tyneside, although Eddie Howe might also have a big concern within his squad.
Newcastle dealt huge injury concern ahead of Liverpool clash
Midway through the first half of Newcastle’s 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace on Saturday, Alexander Isak was forced off with an apparent groin injury.
As per Shields Gazette, Howe indicated after the match that it was a ‘contact issue’ and is hopeful that the £64m striker will ‘recovery quickly’, although the Magpies must wait for a more thorough diagnosis on the Sweden international.
The Magpies also had concerns over Joelinton and Dan Burn during their game at Selhurst Park yesterday, although both players completed the full match and seem likely to be fine to face Liverpool.
Isak injury absence would leave Howe with a dilemma
We don’t know yet if Isak will be available to face the Reds, but given the quick turnaround time for the fixture and the initial nature of the injury, it seems eminently possible that Newcastle could be without the 25-year-old on Wednesday night.
It’d represent a huge blow for the Tynesiders if they were to be deprived of their top scorer for the season when facing the Premier League leaders, with the Swede and Harvey Barnes the only two players in Howe’s squad to have netted more than twice this term.
If the ex-Real Sociedad star were to be ruled out, that’d leave the Magpies either having to call upon a centre-forward who’s barely played in the current campaign (Callum Wilson and William Osula have played 164 minutes combined) or deploy someone out of position, with Anthony Gordon or Joelinton potentially being utilised at the apex of their attack.
Newcastle will face a nervous wait over Isak in the coming days, and while Liverpool’s task would theoretically seem easier if he were to miss out, we never like to see players getting injured. We wish the Swedish striker a swift recovery from the knock that he picked up against Palace yesterday.