Newcastle United star who missed Fulham 'has a chance' of playing v Chelsea - eight ruled out

Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe says Alexander Isak has a chance of being involved in Tuesday night's Carabao Cup quarter-final tie against away to Chelsea (kick-off 8pm).

The Swede missed Saturday's 3-0 win over Fulham at St James Park as he manages a groin issue. Isak was previously sidelined for four weeks but an injury to Callum Wilson meant there was no chance of him being eased back in and so it proved as he started five consecutive games.

A return for Wilson has taken some of the pressure off Isak with the England international selected the lead the line from the start against AC Milan and Fulham last week. But he too is prone to injuries, not least on the back of potentially three starts in six days.

Asked if Isak will be available for the trip to West London, Howe said: "He’ll have a chance but we need to make the right decision."

Howe said: "He had a scan last week and it’s not a big problem, a very minor problem - he’s just fatigued more than anything. But it’s enough for us, at the moment, to treat him carefully.

"We don’t want him to be out for as he was before - six or seven weeks - so we’re trying to manage that."

Indeed, the growing injury list could give Howe little choice but to call upon Isak, something he hinted at after Saturday.

Howe added: “Alex isn’t doing too bad. He’s been playing recently, but still isn’t 100 per-cent with a groin problem. We just felt today was probably the right time to take him out.

"He’s put himself on the pitch for us because Callum’s not been fit, and he’s played a lot of minutes.

"But he’s not 100 per-cent fit, and I want to try to get him 100 per-cent if physically possible. But with the further injuries we’ve had, I don’t know if that will be the case.

Eight players - Sandro (Tonali), Nick Pope (shoulder), Jacob Murphy (shoulder), Harvey Barnes (foot), Joe Willock (Achilles), Elliot Anderson (back), Matt Targett (hamstring) and Javier Manquillo (groin) - are ruled out of the Stamford Bridge,

Meanwhile, Fabin Schar (glute) and Joelinton (hamstring) are a doubt after undergoing scans on Monday. Both players withdrew in the first-half against Fulham.