Newcastle United’s injury woes have gotten worse

Fabian Schar will miss Switzerland’s match against Israel, adding to Newcastle United’s injury woes.

Newcastle United’s injury woes have gotten worse, with Fabian Schar set to sit out Switzerland’s European qualifier against Israel on Wednesday evening. The Magpies defender battled through an apparent hamstring injury in the weekend’s 2-0 loss to Bournemouth, playing the full 90 minutes despite needing treatment in the first half.

Eddie Howe admitted to reporters at full-time that he was unsure of the severity of Schar’s injury but allowed the 31-year-old to join the Swiss national team days later, while Callum Wilson was forced out of England duty with a hamstring injury of his own.

It’s unclear whether Schar would have started for Murat Yakin’s side against Israel, with Manuel Akanji of Manchester City and Nico Elvedi of Borussia Mönchengladbach the go-to central defensive pairing for Switzerland recently. Instead, while his muscle problem is being evaluated, the Newcastle defender will participate in an individual training session at the team hotel.

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After weeks of bad luck, another serious injury to Schar would be devastating for Newcastle. Howe was hoping to welcome back a number of first-team players during the international break, with Alexander Isak, Sven Botman, and Harvey Barnes all nearing fitness.

The first week of the break has been designated as a holiday for all fit senior players, while those still in treatment are being monitored by staff at the club’s Benton training base.

“We have a whole host of players who we need back as soon as possible,” Howe said after Bournemouth, assessing the injury situation. “We also have a busy December, so it’s not a good mix, but it’s something we’ll have to get used to.”

“The break has come at a good time for us, but I don’t expect a flood of players to return.” We have players who are out for an extended period of time. We’re hoping to get one or two back, as Bruno was suspended at an inconvenient time. We didn’t have any bench options to change things up, and Miggy’s injury made things even more difficult.”