Eddie Howe set to be without £150M of talent for visit of Mbappé and PSG

With the monumental Champions League clash against Paris Saint-Germain now on the horizon at St. James’ Park, Newcastle United are facing a mounting injury predicament, as reported today by Luke Edwards in The Telegraph.

Eddie Howe's injury tally is already mounting

The Toon will be missing some big names on Wednesday, with key players Callum Wilson (hamstring), Joelinton (also hamstring), and Sven Botman (knee) needing more time to recover from their respective fitness issues.

Harvey Barnes (toe) and Joe Willock (achilles) were already out longer-term, while Emil Krafth (knee) has only just returned to playing for the U21 side after missing 13 months of action and is not yet ready to play for the first team.

The international break might be coming at a good time

Both Botman and Wilson were unexpectedly sidelined for Saturday's 2-0 victory against Burnley. The Dutch defender's knee concern is likely to keep him until after the mid-October international break, whereas Wilson's hamstring strain seems too precarious to risk in the PSG match.

Joelinton's situation is a bit more complicated. After recovering faster than expected from a knee ailment, he managed to get some minutes against Man City and Burnley. Sadly, the latter appearance saw him exit the pitch with a hamstring issue pretty much instantly after replacing Elliot Anderson from the bench.

Eddie Howe remains optimistic about the Brazilian’s condition, but the head coach's most recent comments to NUFC TV suggest he won't be risked against Kylian Mbappé and co. Joelinton also missed the first game of Group F in the San Siro and is surely desperate for his first taste of Champions League football.

Lascelles, Tonali, and Isak are set to deputise

Given the current stretched state of the squad, Howe is expected to position Jamaal Lascelles on the right side of central defence.

The midfield will likely see Sandro Tonali lining up with Bruno Guimarães and Sean Longstaff, both of whom have been excellent in the last few games.

And, with Wilson out, Alexander Isak is likely to lead the attack despite the knee issue that he recently said is preventing him from reaching full sharpness.