Newcastle United star sent to see specialist amid ‘serious’ injury fears

Sean Longstaff will undergo further tests on his foot injury after sitting out Newcastle United’s defeat against Arsenal.

The 25-year-old was on the receiving end of a heavy tackle from Everton defender James Tarkowski, a penalty appeal that was controversially turned down by referee Andre Marriner and overlooked by VAR.

He missed last week’s 3-1 win over Southampton and following an x-ray, a broken bone or fracture was initially ruled out. But having missed another week, Longstaff is being sent to see a specialist amid fears he’s sustained something serious.

Speaking before the game, Howe told Sky Sports: “We thought he would be back this week but he’s felt a bit of pain in his foot. We still don’t think there’s a huge problem, but it’s concerning. I think he’s going to see a specialist next week.”

Pressed further during his post-match press conference, Howe said: “I don’t know anymore as I sit here now. I certainly hope we will see him [this season]. On specialist’s advice, he’s going to see a specialist on Tuesday to get double checked.

“I won’t go into the technicalities but we thought it was a standard injury but now there may be a chance of something more serious than that. We’re in the dark at the moment.”

In Longstaff, Joelinton dropped into the three-man midfield alongside Bruno Guimaraes and Joe Willock. Alexander Isak started on the left wing.

“I think Sean has been an integral part of our midfield and I think when you take him out we lose a bit of balance,” Howe admitted

The balance of the team has been so impressive - Sean does a really important job in and out of possession for us.

“But there’s no slight on anyone that came into the team today. There was a different balance to our team with Alex on the left and Callum up front. They played well but we were up against a very good team today.

“We still created credible chances and there were moments in that game when I thought we’d explode and catch fire today but it didn’t quite happen.

“Sean has been a big part of our success.”

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