Why doesn't Callum Wilson play against Manchester City? The Newcastle striker is yet to feature for the Magpies this season

Newcastle will still be without Callum Wilson for their daunting game against Manchester City this weekend.

He magpies welcome the Premier League champions to St James' Park, and it is live on talkSPORT.

But they may not have a striker in the first team, with Alejandro Isak a doubt and wilson unavailable due to injury.

Eddie HoweThe team also has William Osula, but he is young, raw and forward-thinking, so Anthony Gordon could lead the line.

Why doesn't Wilson play against Manchester City?

Wilson has not played for the Magpies since the final day of last season when they beat Brentford 4-2.

He came on as a substitute for nine minutes and has not been seen since, without participating in the preseason.

This is because, during the summer, he suffered a back injury that has kept him out of action.

He was initially only expected to miss the Toon's first three games and return to competition for the Magpies in early September.

Speaking about Wilson earlier this year, Howe said: “His recovery is going very well.

“It's really positive and it's not a long-term injury. He has had an injection in his back and feels fine.

“But there is a timetable for his return. “I don't think he will return for Southampton, but I hope so for the first games of September.”

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Unfortunately, as has been the case for much of his Newcastle career, Wilson has suffered a setback and is now not expected to return until after the October international break.

Speaking ahead of Newcastle's 3-1 defeat to Fulham, Howe revealed the bad news.

He said: “Callum will not be attending the game.

“With Callum, we are facing a situation in which we hope to have him back training at full capacity for the next international break, ready for the following games.

“Any hamstring injury is potentially complex. The back injury is there, but it was related (to the hamstring problems). There hasn't been any new injury, it's simply been a case of readjusting timelines depending on how he felt. We had to listen to his body when he handed in the work and they also scanned him again.

“He may not have healed as quickly as we had hoped so there has been a slight adjustment but hopefully we will have him back fully fit and in top shape for the next group of games.

“That's going to be really important because we miss him. We really miss his energy and what he brings to the team, and we miss the competence that he brings.”

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Last season, the 32-year-old played just 20 Premier League games and scored nine goals.

Meanwhile, in the 2022/23 campaign, when Newcastle finished fourth, he played 31 games and scored 18 goals.

So when he is fit he always scores goals but the problem he has had since moving to Tyneside is that he is rarely available.

This will be a problem for Newcastle as they look to finish city ​​manThe undefeated start to the season.