Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak is a doubt for the Premier League clash against Everton.
Eddie Howe’s side make the trip to Goodison Park on Saturday for the 5.30pm kick-off. They will be looking to build on a 1-1 draw with Champions Manchester City in their last outing last week.
That point was picked up without Isak in the squad, with the influential striker missing the game with a toe injury. It’s the same injury that makes him a doubt for this weekend’s clash against the Toffees.
Isak is a name mentioned a lot among Fantasy Premier League (FPL) players, who have until the 11am deadline on Saturday to decide whether to keep the striker in their team, transfer him out, or leave him on the substitutes bench. With that in mind, here is the latest on Isak’s availability for the weekend.
What has been said?
Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the game against Everton, Howe provided an update on Isak. “It was one of those situations where, if Alex could tolerate the pain, he would be fine,” he said.
“He tolerated the pain for about 80 minutes (at Fulham) before he became aware of any feeling back in that toe. It was either he’d be out until probably after the international break initially, or he could carry on playing as normal if he could tolerate the feelings and the effects of the injury. He hasn’t been able to do that, so we’re back to the original diagnosis, I think.
“We’re sort of assessing him on a daily basis because there is a chance he could be fit for Everton if everything falls into place. Of course, then we have a decision to make. Does he play in that game or do we leave him knowing that he’ll be OK two weeks afterwards?”
Will Isak be fit to face Everton in FPL gameweek 7?
Howe’s comments suggest that Isak could potentially feature against Everton, which would please the 16.8% of FPL players who have the striker in their team. However, the official FPL website seems to rule Isak out of the fixture, stating that he is expected to make a return on 19 October against Brighton.
Isak costs £8.3 million in the game and has scored a total of 19 points for his owners so far this season. He averages 3.8 points per match which ranks him as 14 of the 73 forwards available.