Wilson hasn’t featured for Newcastle since May while Isak has missed the last three matches with a broken toe. But both players could be back available for the match against Brighton & Hove Albion at St James’ Park on October 19 (3pm kick-off) though head coach Eddie Howe was keen to stress there is ‘no guarantee of that’.
Isak has scored just once for Newcastle this season prior to his injury though the side haven’t scored from open play since his injury blow last month. Meanwhile, Wilson has played just a handful of matches for Newcastle in 2024 with various injury issues hindering his ability to make an impact.
But both players boast strong scoring records for The Magpies when fit. Wilson has 47 goals in 69 Premier League starts for the club while Isak has 32 league goals in 49 starts.
“I don’t think they’ve been fit together for a sustained period for a long time,” Howe said. “That’s had a negative effect on us a team of course because they’re two outstanding players, but also for themselves.
“They almost need each other to help propel them to their best performances. There’s nothing like that pressure of someone else competing for your shirt or playing with you, because when they’ve played together they’ve done really well together, albeit we haven’t seen it as much as we’d like.
“They’re two hugely influential characters off the pitch as well. Callum we’ve talked about many times, his energy and positivity.
“I don’t think they’ve been fit together for a sustained period for a long time,” Howe said. “That’s had a negative effect on us a team of course because they’re two outstanding players, but also for themselves.
“They almost need each other to help propel them to their best performances. There’s nothing like that pressure of someone else competing for your shirt or playing with you, because when they’ve played together they’ve done really well together, albeit we haven’t seen it as much as we’d like.
“They’re two hugely influential characters off the pitch as well. Callum we’ve talked about many times, his energy and positivity.
“You’re always going to miss your strikers,” Howe admitted. “You take a number nine out of your team and you miss them and the two we’ve been missing are top players. They’re both different but you can see there are elements of our game where we’re just missing that spark.
“In part that’s down to them but Anthony [Gordon] and the group have done incredibly well to play on without them.
“We’ll be delighted to get them back when we can but there’s no guarantee of that, we hope in the next two weeks you can see both of them back in training.”
In order to return against Brighton, Isak will be required to play on with a broken toe while Wilson looks to make his return after almost five months without playing due to back and hamstring problems. But the ongoing concern for Newcastle once the duo are back fit will be to keep them that way.
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