Injury concern for Newcastle United as striker sits out training on international duty

The Magpies will await a fitness update on their record signing.
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Newcastle United’s record signing Alexander Isak has trained alone while on international duty with Sweden.

The former Real Sociedad striker joined up with Janne Andersson’s squad in the aftermath of Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Bournemouth.

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However, with Nations League fixtures with Serbia and Slovenia now just days away, Isak has trained away from the rest of the squad with what the Swedish FA have called ‘a little feeling’.

Significantly, Isak is yet to be ruled out of either fixture and could still play some part if he returns to full training ahead of Saturday’s visit to Serbia.

The striker - who celebrated his 23rd birthday on Wednesday - has made an impressive start to life on Tyneside after scoring two goals in his first three appearances for Newcastle.

But with ongoing injury concerns over fellow forwards Callum Wilson and Allan Saint-Maximin, Eddie Howe will hope Isak can return from international duty with a clean bill of health.

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Wilson was close to being fit ahead of Saturday’s draw with his former club Bournemouth but will now work towards full fitness in order to take part in next weekend’s visit to Fulham.

The situation surrounding Saint-Maximin is a little less clear, with Howe revealed he was unsure whether the French winger would be available for the trip to Craven Cottage.

He said: “With Allan, it’s slightly different.  He has had a very minor setback with the physio.

“Whether or not he’ll be fit after the international is slightly unclear, but’s certainly not long-term. It’s not clear if he’ll be fit for our next game yet.

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“Callum’s doing very well,” Howe added. “We’re really pleased with his progress.

“He was close for today but we made an early decision that it would have been too big of a risk, so we hope, with a bit more time, there’s a chance the next game will be good for him.”