Alexander Isak suffered a “possible concussion” in Newcastle’s semi-final win over Southampton on Tuesday evening.
Newcastle won 2-1 on the night after a double from Sean Longstaff, progressing 3-1 on aggregate to reach their first cup final since 1999.
Midfielder Bruno Guimaraes was also sent off in the 83rd minute, and will miss the next three Premier League matches.
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Asked whether it would be difficult to focus on the league, Howe replied: “I don’t see that being a massive concern.
“For me, I think the concern is Bruno’s red card, Alex’s potential concussion; they’re huge blows for us.”
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Isak picked up the knock after being hit by a James Ward-Prowse free-kick. Asked about his availability for the West Ham match on Saturday, Howe added: “He felt a bit groggy (after) taking the ball to his head. I don’t know how bad that is – I don’t know the concussion protocols.”
Howe also felt that the red card given to Guimaraes after a foul on Samuel Edozie was harsh, despite acknowledging the challenge looked bad in slow-motion.
“When the tackle happened, I just thought it was a normal tackle, slightly mistimed, then you see the slow motion replay back and it doesn’t look great,” he said.
“But I think it’s not taken into account the speed at which that moment is happening. So there’s no intent, absolutely zero intent. I thought the red card was harsh, but it’s happened – we have to deal with it.”
Newcastle will also be without back-up right-back Javier Manquillo for the next three or four weeks, who picked up a knock in training.
New signing Harrison Ashby, paraded on the St James’ Park pitch before kick-off, will provide depth.
“Javier picked up an injury in training so he’ll be missing for three to four weeks,” he said. “So it’s an area that we were light in numbers and bringing Harrison in, we feel was good value in the market as well with current prices. It was a good deal all-around for us.”
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(Photo: Getty Images)