ALEXANDER ISAK has a chance of being involved in Newcastle United’s home game with Luton Town tomorrow, with Harvey Barnes, Callum Wilson and Joe Willock also pushing for a place in the squad.
Isak hobbled off during the first half of Newcastle’s 3-1 win at Aston Villa on Tuesday night after suffering a recurrence of a long-standing groin issue.
It was initially feared the Swedish striker had suffered a problem that could keep him out of action for a number of weeks, but the injury has eased significantly in the last couple of days to the point where he has been able to return to training. As a result, he could find himself back in the starting line-up against Luton.
“He’s (Isak) a lot better,” revealed Jason Tindall, who was standing in for Eddie Howe at Newcastle’s pre-match press conference because the head coach is suffering from an illness that should not prevent him from being on the touchline tomorrow. “He’s improved through Wednesday and Thursday.
“There’s an improvement there, but he’s one we’ll have to assess after training to see how he is ahead of the game. He’s got a chance to be involved tomorrow, but we’ll have to assess it and take advice from the medical team.”
Barnes and Wilson have also been able to step up their training programmes this week, and while Willock is a little bit further behind in terms of his own recovery from a long-term injury issue, all three have a chance of being involved against Luton.
“There’s a potential for a few of the lads to be involved who are getting closer,” said Tindall. “We’ve got another training session today, so we’ll assess the squad after that. It’s certainly getting better than it was a few weeks ago.
“You’ve obviously got Harvey and Callum coming back, and you’ve also got Joe Willock who’s pretty close. Whether they’ll be fit enough to be involved, we’ll have to make that decision after training.
“There’s a question mark over all three of them. Harvey and Callum are probably a little bit ahead of Joe, but we’ll have to assess where all of them are and make the right call ahead of the game.”
Newcastle lost at Luton in late December, so while the Hatters might be fighting for their lives in the bottom half of the table, there is no risk of the Magpies taking their opponents for granted at St James’ Park.
“We certainly weren’t happy with our performance at Kenilworth Road, or the result either,” said Tindall. “It was a time when we were coming off a tough schedule and with the disappointment of the Carabao Cup result at Chelsea just before that.
“That was some time ago now, and we’re just focusing on the last couple of results and performances that have been much better. We’re in a good place to go out and deliver a good performance.”
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