Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak has been left out of the latest Sweden squad, suggesting he will play no part in our trip to Goodison Park this weekend.
The striker looks set to be one of six who’ll miss out at Everton, with Callum Wilson (back/hamstring), Lewis Miley (foot), Sven Botman (ACL), Jamaal Lascelles (ACL) and Matt Targett (eczema) still absent.
Nick Pope missed Wednesday’s cup tie with swelling around his knee, while Martin Dubravka and Fabian Schar also picked up niggles that night. Thankfully, Howe seems hopeful all three will be OK, with Kieran Trippier also left out for the cup as a precautionary measure, but Isak’s absence from the Sweden squad is a clear indication he’ll miss out again.
The 25-year-old has been dealing with a broken toe the last few weeks and while he played on with it against Fulham, the attacker was left out of the squad altogether to face Man City on Saturday as well as the midweek cup tie against AFC Wimbledon.
That leaves Newcastle with just one fit out and out striker in William Osula, though it’s far more likely that Anthony Gordon will again be asked to play a more central role like he did against the Premier League champions.
It’s a a blow for us to be without our star man for the third straight game, but there is still more than enough talent in that front line to come away with a win against a poor Everton side.
Eddie Howe is yet to confirm that Isak would be out for the upcoming fixture, although he did suggest that Isak would more than likely make his return after the international break.