Newcastle United could see Alexander Isak return to the squad on the weekend when West Ham United travel to Tyneside following his injury concern.

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The Magpies booked their spot in the Carabao Cup final on Tuesday night with victory over Southampton at St. James' Park but they did not come out of the game unscathed.

Bruno Guimaraes will be missing for the game against the Hammers on Saturday and the fitness of Isak is still unknown fully despite the expectation from Craig Hope for him to be involved.

After being hit by a James Ward-Prowse free-kick, it was reported the Swedish forward had sustained a possible concussion which saw him walk off in the second half.

Indeed, speaking on his YouTube channel, Hope suggested he would expect to see Isak involved to some extent on the weekend after speaking to Howe on Friday:

(1:50) "We'll have to wait and see on that one. But there wasn't a definitive answer either way. And perhaps that also was part of the reason as to why the club wanted us out of the training ground pronto this morning.

"But is "fine". So I wouldn't be surprised if he is involved in some form tomorrow [Saturday]."

Potential involvement

Although there will be one eye on the Carabao Cup final, there are some important games coming up for Newcastle in the coming weeks as they look to strengthen their spot inside the top four spots.

And the game against a struggling West Ham could prove to be a potential banana skin of a game with David Moyes' men in serious danger of facing relegation this season.

However, the possibility of missing Isak from the side could be a huge blow for Howe with the Swede already proving an incredibly reliable source of goals.

Despite missing the majority of the season already through injury, the 23-year-old has been able to provide a return of three goals in five Premier League games (via Transfermarkt).

And the latest goal came in Newcastle's last home game in the league with the forward coming off the bench to score an 89th-minute winner against Fulham.

In comparison, Callum Wilson finds himself in the middle of a goal drought with the 30-year-old's last goal coming back in October against Aston Villa.

With this in mind, Howe will be hoping Isak is fit to play in the game on Saturday but with it being a potential concussion it is something which the 45-year-old manager should not be gambling on.