Newcastle: Gordon set for scan as injury worries mount

Anthony Gordon is reportedly set for a scan on a hamstring injury after being forced off in Newcastle United‘s EFL Cup semi-final loss to Manchester City.

The England forward limped out of the 3-1 defeat at the Etihad Stadium before half-time as Newcastle’s defence of the trophy they won last year came to an end, City prevailing 5-1 on aggregate to set up a Wembley final with Premier League leaders Arsenal.

Gordon’s injury adds to a mounting list for Newcastle, who were again without captain Bruno Guimaraes, along with Lewis Miley, Joelinton, Tino Livramento and Fabian Schar.

Howe indicated in a television interview after the game that Gordon’s injury did not appear too bad, though his participation in a huge run of fixtures now looks in doubt.

“It looks like a hamstring problem,” Howe told his post-match press conference.

“I don’t quite know how bad it is but it was enough for him to come off so that’s a big worry.”

Howe: Newcastle need confidence

Though they claimed an impressive draw with Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, Newcastle are four games without a win from a run of games that has seen them face Aston Villa and Liverpool as well as PSG and City.

Their upcoming run of games looks more manageable, but carries huge importance in Newcastle’s inconsistent season as they sit 11th in the Premier League, seven points behind fifth-placed Chelsea.

They host Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday, then visit Tottenham on Tuesday and travel to Villa in the FA Cup fourth round, with that game followed by a 5,000-mile round trip to face Qarabag in the Champions League.

“The team has been knocked in recent weeks,” Howe added. “There’s no denying that. We’ve lost some big players and with that, you lose a little bit of confidence.

“It’s funny, the last two games [against Liverpool and City], if you looked at it and you actually really analysed the games, which I know you guys do, you’d go, ‘we haven’t been outplayed throughout the games, we’ve been in the games, we haven’t defended well enough, and we haven’t taken a lot of the chances that we’ve created’.

“So we still believe that we’re a good team, we just need to protect confidence levels at all costs, that’s my first thought.”