Newcastle United's opening Premier League clash against Liverpool could see six players missing from the two sides. Matthias Jaissle is set to take charge of his first match as Magpies boss with the visit of the Reds.
It won't be an easy first outing for Eddie Howe's successor, particularly with the midfield absence of Joelinton following a summer that has seen Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali leave the club.
Jaissle confirms Joelinton and Livramento absences
"For sure out for a couple of weeks but I don't want to go too much in detail as there will always be specialists involved," Jaissle explained ahead of the match. "The medical department is aware of it, we have top staff when it comes to that and I am really confident he will be back as soon as possible."
Newcastle's new manager will also be without Tino Livramento after the former Chelsea academy product saw his World Cup aspirations shattered by a training-ground injury sustained in the United States. He has returned to the training pitch, however.
"For sure, too early [to return against Liverpool]," Jaissle said. "He had just one training where he was partially involved. So we need to be smart with his progress now. We can't wait until he is 100% ready. He has huge potential and I love him."
Liverpool's extensive injury list
Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola has more extensive problems in his squad. Conor Bradley, Hugo Ekitike and Giovanni Leonni continue to be ruled out after sustaining serious problems last term.
Bradley is not expected to return until 2027, while Ekitike is still projected to be sidelined for several months. Leoni is on track to return ahead of that pair but could still face a year out of action after sustaining his ACL injury last September.
Iraola will also be missing Joe Gomez, who is not forecast to return until next month. The former Bournemouth manager stated in pre-season that it would be 'impossible' for him to return in time for the start of the new campaign following his muscle injury.
Isak fitness update
There has also been considerable speculation surrounding Alexander Isak's fitness, ahead of his return to the north east. Iraola has confirmed the striker will require careful management following his injury troubles last season, but believes the Swede is in a positive position after travelling with the squad.
"Right now I think he is in a very good place, he's been training every day," Iraola said in his press conference. "He hasn't missed a training session, he's adding more and more minutes in every friendly game. I think that he already played a very good World Cup in terms of availability, fitness level. I want to keep him there as much as we can because we know his level and if we can keep him there, he will score the goals, he will give us a lot of things."
