Eddie Howe provides Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson injury updates | Football

The Magpies were held to a 1-1 draw with the Seagulls at St James’ Park, after Joel Veltman put the visitors ahead and Sean Longstaff equalised.

There was concern before the contest after Wilson was not in the squad and Howe was a little vague on what the problem is with the England striker.

‘Just feeling not 100 per cent today. A little of tightness, it’s not an injury as such,’ the boss said before the game.

Howe added after the draw: ‘Callum, also a little bit of illness and not feeling great in his body so hopefully he’ll be back [at Manchester United].’

Newcastle go to Old Trafford on Wednesday night and Howe is also hopeful that Isak will recover from a minor bout of illness, which saw him substituted with 25 minutes to play.

‘Alex wasn’t feeling very well yesterday so I took the decision to look after him with a three-game week in mind,’ said Howe. ‘You could see he wasn’t at full tilt today.’

The Magpies remained sixth in the table with the draw and on course for a Europa League place next season.

Howe was not thrilled with the performance he saw from his players, but feels the point they picked up could be vital as they aim to finish in the top six.

‘I don’t think we hit the heights we needed to win it but, if anyone was going to, I thought it would be us,’ Howe told BBC Sport.

‘If you’re not going to win the game, the draw for us is really important. I think it could be a valuable point for us.’