EDDIE Howe faces a nervous wait on Fabian Schar after the defender left the pitch with his arm in a sling following Newcastle's 2-2 draw with Bournemouth.

Schar suffered the blow in the dying seconds when a ball hit his arm and Newcastle's head coach hopes it's nothing more than a twisted wrist.

The Magpies could desperately do without another setback after Callum Wilson this week had to undergo surgery on the freak chest injury he suffered at Nottingham Forest.

Wilson's operation went "well" on Friday, said Howe, who added: "He was very positive last night when I spoke to him and now he's concentrating on his comeback."

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Howe will now anxiously await an update on Schar.

He said: "I think the ball hit his arm at the end, I'll whisper that because I don't know if he was in or out of the box.

"The ball hit his arm and I think he twisted his wrist. Fingers crossed it's not too serious, we could certainly do without another injury to the arm."

Newcastle were again without Alexander Isak and Joe Willock against Bournemouth but the pair are close and could be involved at Arsenal next week.

In the absence of a recognised striker, Howe tinkered throughout against the Cherries, with Anthony Gordon, Harvey Barnes and Jacob Murphy leading the line at different stages.

"We were searching in the game to try and get a better balance to the team," said Howe.

"We looked at different players in different positions to see if the match-ups would work better. It wasn't ideal.

"You're going to miss someone of Alex's qualities. He was close but not close enough, same as Joe Willock.

"Fingers crossed in the not too distant future they can play an important part for us."

Dan Ashworth was in the stands at St James' Park while the uncertainty over the sporting director's future rumbles on in the background.

Manchester United want the Newcastle chief to oversee the new era at Old Trafford but Howe said on Friday there'd been no formal approach.

The head coach said that situation remains unchanged. Asked whether he's spoken to Ashworth since his press conference on Friday, Howe said: "No."