Fresh Newcastle United injury blow as four players ruled out of Arsenal clash

Newcastle United are set to be without five senior players for tomorrow’s Premier League clash at Arsenal (kick-off 7:45pm).

Head coach Eddie Howe revealed after the goalless draw with Leeds United on New Year’s Eve that Matt Targett had become the Magpies’ latest casualty.

Targett, who joined permanently from Aston Villa in the summer, will be sidelined for an unspecified number of weeks due to an ongoing heel problem.

“Matt Targett has a heel problem,” Howe confirmed. “He’s been managing it for a couple of months but it’s got to the point where it’s too painful for him to carry on. When I say a couple of months, I’m including the break in that as well.

“It’s disappointing, I think he’s going to be out for a period of time. We’re not 100 per cent sure how long at the moment but it’s a nasty injury.”

Indeed, the 27-year-old is the second player Newcastle have lost to injury in the space of a week after Jonjo Shelvey was ruled out for six to eight weeks with a calf problem.

The former Liverpool midfielder had only recovered from hamstring surgery that caused him to miss most of the first half of the campaign. Injuries to both Targett and Shelvey could impact United’s January transfer plans.

Meanwhile, club-record signing Alexander Isak remains out with a thigh problem, although according to Howe is “very close” to resuming full training.

The Sweden international hasn’t featured since September but Howe hopes to have him back available at some point this month.

“Whenever he’s fit and available, he’ll certainly come into my thinking then,” Howe said last week. “He would be like a new signing, a bit of a cliche, but he would be.

“We haven’t had him for a long period of time, so whenever he’s fit and available, he’ll come into our plans straight away. We need to make sure he is fit before exposing him to a match.

“We’re just going to have to judge it when he’s fit. I can look at games, and think ‘this game would be good for him’, but it all depends on how he feels, and if he’s ready to play.”

Emil Krafth (ACL) and Paul Dummett also remain unavailable for the trip to the Premier League leaders.