Eddie Howe says that Alexander Isak was already nursing an injury when he made his £63million move from Newcastle United to Real Sociedad.
The striker is set to be unavailable to Newcastle until December having picked up a separate thigh injury while on duty with Sweden. But Howe is prepared for what could be a two month lay off for the player and sees it as an opportunity to get him fully "bedded in" on Tyneside.
Howe said: "If you are looking for the positive of this he will get a chance for the injury to heal and then we will get a mini pre-season to get him in peak condition. When he joined us he had a very minor hamstring problem, so even when he played against Liverpool he was not at 100% fitness.
"Hopefully this gives us an opportunity to get into a peak condition and show us his athletic abilities because he is an incredible athlete and he will do incredibly well for us "This is an important time now to bed him in and get to the know the players, the city and the club."
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Isak was described as in a good place just a week ago when Howe spoke optimistically about a return soon. But he has since be struck again by an injury nightmare.
Howe said: "We don't think we'll see Alex back before the World Cup. Unfortunately, he's had a setback on his thigh. It's been very frustrating for him as a new player in a new league. I thought he was acclimatising well and picked up the injury with Sweden.
"It's been frustrating for him because he felt really good and he did a lot of work to get fit. Muscle injuries can be unpredictable they can be difficult you can be OK one minute and succumb the next.
"It's a real shame because he's desperate to make his mark here but he's young, he's got a long future ahead of him here so we have to protect him and make sure he comes back right."
Meanwhile, Howe had better news on Allan Saint-Maximin who has been struggling with a hamstring.
He said: "Maxi has had a very minor irritation to his hamstring but it is the third time that's happened. Although it is a minor injury, because of the recurrence we might have to be careful with him but we hope to see him before the World Cup break."
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