Sean Longstaff must see a specialist before learning how much of a part he could play in Newcastle United's remaining fixtures.
The Geordie midfielder was a huge miss in the 2-0 defeat against Arsenal as the Magpies lost the midfield battle as Jorginho and Granit Xhaka dominated the engine room contest. Longstaff picked up foot injury in the 4-1 win over Everton last month and has not been able to train.
It leaves him as a doubt for the trip to Leeds United on Saturday, and Eddie Howe is keen to learn more about the injury after initially being briefed it was only bruising for the Academy product. There was a hole in midfield at times against the Gunners with the opening goal from Martin Odegaard not closed down.
READ MORE: Newcastle United 0-2 Arsenal player ratings: Nick Pope star man but others struggle
Howe said: "Sean’s been an integral part of our midfield, and I think when you take him out, we lose a bit of balance. I think the balance of the team has been so impressive, and Sean does a really important job both in and out of possession for us.
"That’s no slight on anybody who came into the team against Arsenal though. I thought it was just a different balance to our team with Alex (Isak) on the left and Callum (Wilson) up front.
"I thought both players played well, but we were up against a very good team, and we still created incredible chances. There were moments where I thought we were going to explode and catch fire, but it never quite happened. But Sean’s been a big part of our success."
When asked if he felt Longstaff would play again this season, Howe reflected: "I certainly hope we will see Sean again this season, but on the specialist’s advice, he’s going to see a specialist on Tuesday to get it double checked.
"I won’t go into the technicalities, but whereas we thought it was quite a standard injury, a bruise, now there may be a chance it’s something a bit more serious than that. We’re in the dark at the moment."
