Official update on 6 Newcastle players arrives from Eddie Howe - Good & bad news for Everton clash
Eddie Howe has been speaking to the press this morning ahead of tomorrow's clash with Everton, offering an update on the injury front.
The good news is that Fabian Schar is "fine" and ready to play despite being forced off at Old Trafford, with the boss also revealing that Jonjo Shelvey is "as fit as we have seen him" and edging closer to his first appearance of the season.
The bad news is that Alexander Isak has been ruled out until after the World Cup after suffering a setback on a thigh injury picked up on international duty last month.
Howe also believes Bruno Guimaraes and Kieran Trippier will be fine to go again after a few day's rest, with the pair going down with knocks in each of the last two games.
Here's what the manager has had to say on all of the above in the last few moments, starting with a frustrating update on our club record signing...
Howe on Isak:
“Alex, we don’t think we’ll see again before the World Cup. Unfortunately he has suffered a setback on his thigh.
It's been very frustrating for him as a new player in a new league. I thought he was acclimatising well and picked up the injury with Sweden.
"It's been frustrating for him because he felt really good and he did a lot of work to get fit. It's a real shame because he's desperate to make his mark here but he's young, he's got a long future ahead of him here so we have to protect him and make sure he comes back right."
Howe on Saint-Maximin:
“Maxi’s had a very minor irritation to his hamstring but it’s the third time that has happened, so although it is a very minor injury, because of the reoccurrence we’ll have to be very careful with his timescales, but we hope to see him before the World Cup break.”
Howe on Schar:
“He’s fine. He’s been nursing a foot injury for a while now. He’s managed it very well but it just reared its head towards the end of the Man Utd game but I think he’ll be fine.”
Howe on Guimaraes and Trippier:
"When you have the three game week like we are in the middle of now, every day you wake up and feel better for a night's sleep. Hopefully everybody will be OK but we wait and see."
Howe on Shelvey:
“He’s as fit as we have seen him and he’s in a great place. “We just need to be careful with him.
"We are continuing to work him very hard but he's still in the early stages of coming back. We're building his load and building his training time but he's looking really good. We just want to be careful in the latter stages of his injury."
