Eddie Howe says Callum Wilson has been under the weather in recent days but made himself available to start on the bench in Newcastle United's 2-1 win over Wolves. The England international was replaced in the starting XI by Alexander Isak, who opened the scoring at St James' Park, after a dip in form of late.
Wilson has been given the nod in recent weeks but calls had grown for Isak to be deployed through the middle from the start. Howe bowed to the pressure on Saturday, with the Swede repaying his faith with a stellar showing.
Wilson missed a number of training sessions in the build-up to Sunday's clash, according to Howe, but was passed fit for the Premier League tie, eventually coming off the bench in the 68th-minute. “(He) had a little bit of illness, nothing serious,” Howe said after the win.
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“He did very, very well to make himself available to me today. He wasn’t 100 per cent to take to the pitch but he did for the cause.”
While Wilson was available the same couldn't be said for his Newcastle co-star Anthony Gordon. The £40m January addition was missing from the Magpies squad and is set for a spell on the sidelines.
Gordon picked up an ankle injury in the defeat to Manchester City last week and is set to miss two to three weeks with the problem.
“It was a strange one because after the (Manchester City) game there was no sign of an injury, but it was one of those that got worse,” Howe added. “On the day of the game, it was a tackle.
“He came in and had it scanned, hoping we could get away with it and he would be all right. But unfortunately not. He’ll miss probably the next two games. We’re unsure if he’ll be back after the international break. We’re hopeful but that’s not 100 per cent certain.”
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