£20m Newcastle player has not been spotted in training ahead of Chelsea on Sunday

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Eddie Howe is pondering whether to make any changes to his Newcastle United team against Chelsea.

The Magpies travel to Stamford Bridge on Sunday, as Eddie Howe searches for a way to bounce back from the disappointing defeat to Brighton.

Newcastle United were extremely poor in front of goal at the weekend, with the likes of Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon missing big chances. Scoring goals is proving to be an issue, with Harvey Barnes’ consolation against Fulham proving to be the last time that Newcastle found the net from open play.

However, there is belief inside Newcastle that goals will soon come.

One reason is the confidence that Isak will hit top form very soon. That surely has to happen given his immense talent.

And the second reason is the looming return of Callum Wilson.

Update from Newcastle United’s training ground

The 32-year-old is yet to feature for Newcastle this season, with Wilson absent due to a back injury and then a hamstring problem.

Following the defeat to Brighton, Howe said that Wilson is close to returning and has trained. There had been hope that he was going to feature against Brighton, but that proved not to be the case.

Next up for Newcastle is Chelsea away, and it remains to be seen if the England international will be involved.

Newcastle United have provided an update from the training ground, uploading multiple photos from Wednesday morning’s session to their official website.

There is no sign of Callum Wilson, with the £20million forward failing to appear in any of the images.

Newcastle want to be careful with Callum Wilson

It remains unclear what that means ahead of facing Chelsea on Sunday.

There was no sign of Alexander Isak in last week’s official training photos, yet Howe stated in his press conference that the Swedish striker had trained before going on to play the full 90 minutes against Brighton.

Understandably, Newcastle are going to be careful with Wilson. The last thing they want is for their number nine to suffer another setback.

When Wilson returns, Newcastle need to ensure he stays fit for as long as possible. He can be an important player for the Magpies, but only if he is available to play.

Regardless of whether Wilson is fit enough to be involved in some capacity against Chelsea, it will be Alexander Isak who leads the line. While there is no sign of Wilson, the 25-year-old has trained, and will be eager to bounce back after those missed chances against Brighton.