Newcastle suffer two 'big' injury blows in Champions League defeat

The Magpies suffered a big setback after falling to their first Champions League defeat of the season.

Newcastle United stars Alexander Isak and Jacob Murphy suffered injuries in Wednesday’s 1-0 Champions League loss to Borussia Dortmund.

Isak, who had struggled with a groin problem, left the match just 15 minutes in due to a recurrence of the injury. Murphy, on the other hand, was withdrawn in the 70th minute. The substitute lasted only five minutes, before he had to make way for Joe Willock due to a shoulder injury.

“It looks like a recurrence of his [Isak’s] groin problem and it’s a big blow,” manager Eddie Howe told TNT Sports.

“Jacob looks serious, potentially a dislocation of his shoulder.”

Newcastle are also missing Harvey Barnes, Sven Botman, and Elliot Anderson because of injuries.

“We’ve got a small squad as it is,” Howe noted. “That’s probably the most disappointing thing of the night.”

Felix Nmecha scored the only goal of the game on Wednesday to seal Dortmund a 1-0 win. The result marked Newcastle’s first defeat in Europe this season. They’ve now dropped to third in Group F, with four points in three games.

Their next challenge will be a Premier League clash away to Wolves on Saturday.