Eddie Howe says Alexander Isak is expected to be fit for Newcastle United’s home match against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Wednesday night.
Isak, who has scored in seven consecutive Premier League games for Newcastle, equalling a club record, was withdrawn in the 65th minute of the Carabao Cup victory at Arsenal last week with a minor hamstring niggle and was not in the squad for the FA Cup tie against Bromley.
While the Sweden international has not trained with Newcastle’s first-team in the interim and, along with the rest of Howe’s regular starters, was given some time off last week, he is pushing to be involved against Wolves.
“He will be desperate to play of course,” Howe said. “Those runs (of scoring) I’m not too focussed on and I’m not too interested in, but I understand the individuals will care deeply about them and I’d love Alex to continue to score. I think the most important thing for me is that the team is functioning well for him and he’s functioning well for the team. The two things go hand in hand together.
“He will be there or thereabouts. We haven’t seen him train yet, but fingers crossed he will be (available). We have to be careful, of course, but that’s why I did what I did against Arsenal, to try and protect him and make sure that we don’t lose him. He’s such a valuable player for us. Fingers crossed all being well, he’ll be fine and he’ll take his place in the team.”
Harvey Barnes, meanwhile, will be missing for around a month, however, after damaging his thigh in the 3-1 win over Bromley.
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“Harvey will be missing for a period of time,” Howe said. “We don’t think it’s a serious injury, but it will be enough to keep him out for a few weeks. I think we’re probably looking around a month. Don’t hold me to that, but that’s sort of the early assessment.
“He’s had a scan. As I said, it’s not too bad, but it will be enough to keep him out. It’s an injury to his thigh, a muscle in his thigh. He did it crossing a ball just towards the end of the first half. He felt he could carry on till half-time, but then it became apparent at half-time that he couldn’t come out for the second half.”
Howe added that it was a “big blow,” to lose Barnes, but with Newcastle winning their last eight games in all competitions, fifth in the Premier League and in the semi-final of the Carabao Cup, the mood within the club is positive, a stark contrast to the the dismay of losing 4-2 at Brentford in early December, when Newcastle were 12th.
Asked if this could be a great season for Newcastle, Howe replied: “This season can be. We’re fighting on all fronts. I think it’s down to us. We’re coming to a key stage and every game is potentially a pivotal moment. There’s no ceiling on what we can do.”
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