Yahoo Sport 
Newcastle United face anxious injury wait and transfer 'uncertainty'
NEWCASTLE will be boosted by the return of Callum Wilson for the crunch final day decider at Brentford - but Eddie Howe faces a nervous wait to see if Anthony Gordon is fit to play in the capital.
United's star man Gordon took a heavy hit after Sofyan Amrabat's challenge in the midweek defeat at Manchester United and will continue to be monitored ahead of Sunday's game.
But there's no such uncertainty when it comes to Wilson, who is back in contention after missing the last two games, with Howe admitting the striker's return is a huge boost.
"We anticipate he will be fit," said the head coach.
"Whenever he is not available you sense a gap. It is a gap in the sense of his personality and experience. But also for us to play with two strikers or to rotate. When you only have one striker it puts a bigger burden on other strikers."
On Gordon, Howe said on Friday: “We will wait and see how he is today. I’m not 100% sure as I sit here now exactly how he is. Certainly that tackle left a mark on him.”
The Magpies are in need of an away win on Sunday, something that has been hard to come by this season. Howe's side have only picked up 17 points from a possible 54 on the road and their defeat at Manchester United was their 11th this season away from St James' Park. Only Luton and Sheffield United have lost more games on their travels.
"You can't put it down to one thing," said Howe.
"We've lost a bit of the solidity we had last year but generally I don't think our performances have changed that much. Just look at the numbers, we've conceded far too many goals on the road this season. Our defending has to be key for us. We're going to try come back a tighter team.
"Our goalscoring has been good both home and away. But I felt we left goals on the pitch on Wednesday. There are areas to improve in both aspects.
"I left the game frustrated, woke up frustrated, watched the game back frustrated. We could have won the game. In big moments we didn't get those details right."
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Howe's current focus is on Sunday's game but behind the scenes a lot of work and thought has already gone into the summer transfer window, with the Magpies needing to bolster their squad this summer but facing a tricky balancing act as they look to continue to comply with the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules.
Howe said: "We've been finalising plans. There's a lot of uncertainty over transfers in general, with prices and how much activity there will be. For us, there's a lot that could happen but it's one of those things we'll have to see how it unfolds."
Sunday's game will immediately be followed by a long trip to Australia for Newcastle's squad for the two post-season friendlies against Tottenham and an A-League All Stars side.
Howe said: "Finish the game and straight on the plane. It's a very quick turnaround. We're focusing on this game and that has to take priority.
"Our pre-season training will start early July, we're finalising our last few pre-season games."
