Isak was forced to sit out this afternoon’s 1-0 defeat at Arsenal after experiencing discomfort in his groin on the night before the game.
The Swedish forward was sent for a scan, with the results resulting in him being withdrawn from the starting side that lined up at the Emirates.
Newcastle’s defeat, which came courtesy of a second-half strike from Declan Rice, means they head into the final game of the season with their Champions League fate hanging in the balance.
Beat Everton at St James’ Park next Sunday, and the Magpies will be guaranteed a Champions League place. Fail to take all three points against David Moyes’ side, though, and they will be relying on other results to hand them a top-five finish.
“It’s unknown (whether Isak will be fit for the Everton game),” admitted Howe. “I don’t know that at this moment in time.
“He only really felt pain after training. He felt fine during training, but then he had a bit of stiffness. He went for a scan this morning, purely as a precaution really, but then it became obvious that he wasn’t going to be fit to play.
“I don’t know what will happen. I think a lot will depend on how he reacts in the next few days now.”
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Isak has been struggling with an ongoing groin issue for more than two months. He sat out the league defeat at Liverpool at the end of February, before returning to the side to play a crucial role in March’s Carabao Cup final win, and has been forced to sit out the occasional training session since the Wembley success.
That has led to fears of a deep-rooted problem that could require an operation in the summer, but Howe does not anticipate that surgery will be necessary. He does, however, accept that a more detailed examination is now required to get to the bottom of why Isak’s groin issues keep reappearing.
“I think he’s had a couple of groin issues, on either side,” said Howe. “I think this is one that he had earlier in the season. I don’t think this is a surgery issue. I don’t think it’s something that needs mending.
“It probably needs looking at, as to why he’s getting these groin complaints. But it’s definitely not a surgery issue – it’s probably more of a ‘What’s he doing to strengthen that area’ issue, which we’ll of course look at and focus on.”
