Newcastle United will attempt to come back down to earth on Wednesday evening when they host Brentford in their first match since they ended their 70-year wait for a domestic trophy by winning the Carabao Cup.
The 2-1 Wembley win over Liverpool was followed by the international break, but the party has continued on Tyneside, with hundreds of thousands of fans taking to the streets at the weekend when Eddie Howe and his players enjoyed an open-top bus parade through the streets of Newcastle.
Attention must now switch back to the Premier League, with the Magpies knowing they will need a strong run-in if they are to seal a top four – or potentially top five – place that will see them return to the Champions League next season.
When will Anthony Gordon return for Newcastle United?
One of the current campaign’s key contributors has been forward Anthony Gordon, even if the former Everton man missed out at Wembley owing to suspension following his straight red card against Brighton in the FA Cup.
That saw Gordon hit with a three-match ban, meaning he sat out the win at West Ham, the victory over Liverpool and will also have to watch from the stands against Brentford.
Gordon – who was ranked at no.9 in FourFourTwo’s list of the best left-wingers in the world last month – was able to feature in the first game of new England manager Thomas Tuchel’s regime when he came off the bench against Albania after 74 minutes, only to suffer a late injury which ruled him out of the win over Latvia.
“It’s just a matter of pain, there’s a big bruise around the hip region and he’s unable to walk properly,” Tuchel said following the injury.
“He left camp. He has a huge bruise around the hip region and was it so painful he couldn’t even walk properly. He needs some time to heal and to get better. That’s why he left camp. It’s a shame because he had a good chance to start, and I’m sad that he is now out.
“He was so happy to play and get some minutes for us. He had a red card, then he got sick – he came a bit late into camp – and gets his minutes and gets straightaway injured.
“I’m sad for him but we cannot change it, and I think he still needs a couple of days rest, so he’s with his family now to get the rest and we find other solutions.”
With Gordon definitely missing out against Brentford on Wednesday through suspension, Newcastle will be hoping that he will be able to feature on Monday night when the Magpies visit the King Power Stadium to take on Leicester City.
Howe will likely address Gordon’s condition prior to the Bees clash, with a further update set to come on Friday, when he previews the Foxes trip in his pre-match press conference.
