'Difficult': Newcastle forward now admits that he has been asked to play before being fully fit this season

Newcastle United have had a torrid time with injuries this season which has caused Eddie Howe to field players who weren't fully fit.

The fatigue was evident towards the end of the year after Howe was forced to field pretty much the same eleven players three games a week, and was a contributing factor into Newcastle's early exit from the Champions League as well as poor league form.

However, Howe didn't do himself any favours by rushing players back into action when they returned from injury with players often ending up back on the treatment table pretty quickly.

Newcastle's record signing, Alexander Isak is one of those players who has been plagued by a recurring injury this season.

Getty Images

Currently on international duty with Sweden, Isak spoke to SVT Sport about his problems this season.

“It has actually been difficult. Precisely because it has been difficult to get into your flow or when you have just done it, you have had a setback. It’s almost a little nicer to know that you’re away for a longer time than these small hiccups,

“You do your rehab and then you get injured again. It has been a bit hard. Now I have been healthy and have felt good, hopefully, I can stay healthy too.

“I have had problems with my groin, it has been a bit recurring. The situation in the team has not helped with the availability of players either.

“Many times, I’ve come back from an injury and have had to play three games in a week, some 90 minutes, and that’s not optimal. But at the same time, we have had important games.”

It was a difficult time for Eddie Howe who had to make the tough decisions whether to run his 'fully fit' players completely into the ground or risk players coming back from injury a bit earlier than what would normally be advisable.

There was no right answer as he would have been criticised either way.

We're just glad that Isak is now feeling fully fit and we hope he comes back from international duty raring to go against West Ham on Saturday.