Newcastle United have received an injury setback with an exciting young winger set for another spell on the sidelines.

£138m trio Sven Botman (knee), Alexander Isak (groin) and Joelinton (knee) are all doubts for Sunday’s FA Cup clash against Brighton, with Eddie Howe once again set to look to the academy to complete his matchday squad.

Sean Neave, who was on the bench against Birmingham, has been called up to train with the first team this week – as has right-back Leo Shahar. However, one who featured against Bromley certainly won’t be involved against Brighton after a second injury setback since the turn of the year.

Sanusi suffers major setback

Trevan Sanusi has suffered a second injury setback in 2025 after coming off the bench for his first team debut in a cameo against Bromley in which his raw potential was clear.

The 17-year-old winger’s development has again been stunted. Having just returned from five weeks out, he is set to miss another eight, taking us beyond the final league game of the season for the academy. If the young Mags get there, he may feature in the Northumberland Senior Cup final at St. James’ Park in May.

Sanusi hasn’t featured at any level since his professional debut for Newcastle against Bromley, missing seven U21 games in that time. Thought to be edging closer to a return, the teenager is unlikely to get many minutes into his legs after suffering an ankle injury.

Howe impressed by teenager

Howe was impressed with Sanusi’s FA Cup cameo and the Mag managers wish was to give the winger more minutes before he suffered a pair of injuries.

The Toon head coach has praised Sanusi on many occasions, most recently after Bromley when he said: “This (his debut) will be a big moment for him. I’d love to see him get some more opportunities, but that will be dependent, of course, on how the players are playing within the squad.

“He has a nice way of riding tackles, he’s got really good balance, but like most young players, there’s stuff to improve. His end product needs to get better, so we’ll continue to work with him on that.”

Sanusi was also singled out for praise after impressing against Brest in pre-season, with a loan move being ruled out at that time as we looked to continue his development in house.

“Personally I think it’s too early to loan him,” said Howe in the summer. “The biggest thing we have to do is to develop his talent and to keep improving his game – but also develop him physically.

“I thought he did well tonight. I think he’s got bits to learn, of course, for someone his age. Tactically he’s got things to improve. We’ve got to build him up physically to protect him and to make sure he’s robust enough to deal with the rigours of the Premier League. But he’s left a positive impression on us and I’m really pleased with him.”