Can Newcastle United cope with the added demands of playing in the Champions League? On the evidence of their results in the last two weeks, the answer would appear to be an emphatic ‘yes’. When it comes to their lengthening injury list, though, the response would have to be rather less definitive. The more that the matches are piling up, the more that Eddie Howe’s options when it comes to selecting his starting XI are shrinking.

Since drawing their opening Champions League match in the San Siro just over a week-and-a-half ago, Newcastle have thrashed Sheffield United to record their biggest-ever Premier League away win, knocked Premier League champions Manchester City out of the Carabao Cup and seen off Burnley at St James’ Park to move to within four points of the top four.

They have not conceded a goal in any of those games and appear to have rediscovered the defensive resolve and organisation that was such a key part of their success last season. Their attack is clearly functioning effectively when things click, as evidenced by the eight-goal extravaganza at Bramall Lane, and key players such as Kieran Trippier, Bruno Guimaraes and Miguel Almiron are clicking back into top form after relatively slow starts to the campaign. So far, so good.

The problem is that as well as recording three extremely creditable results since drawing with AC Milan, Newcastle have also lost four extremely important players. Harvey Barnes was the first to go, suffering a foot injury in the opening 20 minutes in Sheffield that will rule him out for around three months. Sven Botman suffered a knee injury in the closing stages against the Blades, and is unlikely to be seen again until after the international break, while Callum Wilson Suffered a hamstring issue at Bramall Lane that meant he was sidelined at the weekend and is a major doubt for Wednesday’s eagerly-awaited meeting with Paris St Germain.

Joelinton was the latest player to break down at the weekend, hobbling off with a hamstring injury just five minutes after coming onto the field as a second-half substitute. He is currently being assessed, but is unlikely to be available for either PSG or Sunday’s Premier League game at West Ham.

Newcastle’s high-energy, high-pressing style is a fundamental part of their footballing identity, but it also places huge physical demands on Howe’s players. Last season, they generally had a week between matches to rest and recuperate. This term, they are being pressed into action every three or four days, and the early evidence would suggest they are more susceptible to suffering injuries as a result.

“It’s a difficult moment for us injury wise,” admitted Howe. “It’s that kind of season for us, with the physical demands we’re going to face. You don’t want any injury, and any injury really hurts us, but it is what it is, and we have to deal with it. We have to be resilient and deal with the challenges that will come. We just hope we can get those players back really quickly.”

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A major bonus for Howe is that, so far, the players who have been pressed into action as a result of the injuries have not been found wanting. Had Joe Willock been fit, Elliot Anderson would probably have started the season as Newcastle’s sixth-choice central midfielder. As it is, the 20-year-old has started the last three league games and appears to be benefiting greatly from the lengthiest run of his senior Magpies career.

Last season, Jamaal Lascelles made a grand total of two league starts. With Botman unavailable, the centre-half started two matches in the space of four days last week, and didn’t put a foot wrong in either of them. While there was talk of the skipper potentially leaving in the summer, Howe judged, quite rightly, that he would almost certainly be needed at some stage.

“We’ve always believed we’ve got some really good players here,” said Howe. “The problem for us, with the amount of games we have, is if we get injuries in one area. Unfortunately, at the moment, it’s all attackers, plus Sven, that are injured, which is a blow.

“It’s obviously going to stretch us, but hopefully with the international break coming, it will be a good time, fingers crossed, to get the majority of them back if we can, and then our squad will look really strong. The players that have come in, it’s great experiences for them. I think they have done well, and that will lift us long term. It’s a great thing for us to see.”

Lascelles and Anderson both played prominent roles in the weekend win over Burnley, with the former linking up with Fabian Schar to restrict Newcastle’s opponents to a handful of opportunities and the latter providing energy and momentum at the heart of midfield alongside Guimaraes and Sean Longstaff.

Newcastle opened the scoring in the 14th minute, with Kieran Trippier snapping into a tackle against Aaron Ramsey that released the ball into the path of Miguel Almiron. The Paraguayan shuffled the ball onto his left foot, before curling home a spectacular finish that was reminiscent of some of the eye-catching goals he claimed in the first half of last season.

A second goal arrived with 14 minutes remaining, with Anthony Gordon driving into the box after a poor defensive header from Ameen Al-Dakhil and luring the Burnley centre-half into an ill-judged sliding challenges that resulted in the award of a penalty.

Having scored the winner against Manchester City on Wednesday night, Alexander Isak stepped up to roll a composed spot-kick into the bottom corner.