After a tricky summer that went to the wire in the striker department, Newcastle United have had a few early setbacks with injuries and suspensions.
Anthony Gordon has missed the last three Premier League games through suspension, Yoane Wissa (knee) and Jacob Ramsey (ankle) are out until the next international break and Joelinton also missed our 0-0 draw at Leeds through injury.
The latest casualty is Fabian Schar, who missed Sunday’s 0-0 draw at Bournemouth after suffering a concussion in Thursday night’s 2-1 defeat to Barcelona.
Schar admitted on Instagram that he would “miss a few games” due to this, but concussion protocols mean the Swiss centre-back will miss THREE in total, with Eddie Howe confirming a 12-day layoff.
With this in mind, Schar will sit out Wednesday’s Carabao Cup clash with Bradford and Sunday’s Premier League meeting with Arsenal, allowing him to return for our Champions League trip to Belgian side Union SG next Wednesday.
Discussing Schar’s absence yesterday, Howe said: “I think he’s doing okay, yeah, I think it was a 12-day concussion for Fabi. All the checks were cleared on the pitch, but this was a concussion that was diagnosed after the game.”
On the plus side, Howe has praised Malick Thiaw’s display in the Swiss star’s absence, hailing his “very promising” debut in Sunday’s 0-0 draw at Bournemouth: “I thought we saw his qualities as an outstanding player,” Howe said. “Very promising debut from him.”
