Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak has been left out of Sweden’s squad for their Nations League fixtures later this month.
The 25-year-old sustained a broken toe during Newcastle’s 2-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers in September and played against Fulham after receiving an injection. However, he missed Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Manchester City and the 1-0 Carabao Cup victory over AFC Wimbledon on Tuesday.
As a result, Isak will be unavailable for Sweden manager Jon Dahl Tomasson as he prepares the team for their upcoming matches against Slovakia on October 11 and Estonia three days later.
“It is one of the world’s best strikers who is missing,” Tomasson said of Isak’s absence.
“He is really disappointed not to be able to contribute and help the team, but he is not ready to perform due to injury and I am sure he will be back in November and help us when we play again.”
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Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe is adamant Isak’s injury is not serious, stating that he is being assessed on a daily basis.
“Let’s see how he looks for Everton (on Saturday, October 3),” Howe said about Isak.
“Obviously there’s an international break after that and there will be implications for that, so we’ll make assessments during the week. It’s not a serious injury but it is a niggly one which is affecting him.”
Sweden squad in full
Goalkeepers: Viktor Johansson (Stoke City), Kristoffer Nordfeldt (AIK), Robin Olsen (Aston Villa), Jacob Widell Zetterstrom (Derby County).
Defenders: Alex Douglas (Lech Poznan), Gabriel Gudmundsson (Lille), Ludwig Augustinsson (Anderlecht), Isak Hien (Atalanta), Emil Krafth (Newcastle United), Victor Lindelof (Manchester United), Carl Starfelt (Celta Vigo), Eric Smith (St. Pauli).
Midfielders: Ken Sema (Watford), Yasin Ayari (Brighton & Hove Albion), Lucas Bergvall (Tottenham Hotspur), Niclas Eliasson (AEK Athens), Jesper Karlstrom (Udinese), Hugo Larsson (Eintracht Frankfurt), Sebastian Nanasi (Strasbourg), Anton Saletros (AIK).
Forwards: Anthony Elanga (Nottingham Forest), Viktor Gyokeres (Sporting CP), Dejan Kulusevski (Tottenham Hotpsur), Gustaf Nilsson (Club Bruges).
(George Wood/Getty Images)
